Danse Macabre
by theSolitaireMystery
Summary: The World has forgotten her, and she is left alone, struggling to find meaning to a sacrifice that benefited everyone but herself. He fights against the darkness in and outside his heart, reaching towards the strength to protect. When the two teenagers meet halfway, the piano will start playing again in the blue Velvet Room, and the Shinigami will dance alongside Death itself.
1. Marche Funèbre

**I do not own any part of Bleach and Persona 3 Portable. All rights belong to Tite Kubo and to Atlus. I only own my original storyline.**

* * *

 _ **Frédéric Chopin - Piano Sonata Op.35 No.2 - Marche Funèbre**_

* * *

 **Tatsumi Port Island, Gekkoukan High School**

 **March 5th, 2010, 10:51**

* * *

Left, right, left, right.

Her feet moved automatically, led more by habit than by her will.

She slowly walked through the corridors of the school she'd become so accustomed to in so relatively little time. Still, it felt peculiar to be so strongly tied to a particular place... She had never felt that way before arriving in Tatsumi Port Island.

 _And it will be my last time feeling that way._

She saw several people she knew through the bustling hallways. They all waved gently at her, grinned at her, called her over. She pretended to happily smile back, like always. It wouldn't do to unsettle them. Like always.

 _They have no clue what I, what we've done for them. Just like always._

She glanced into the open classrooms as she calmly, quietly, passed by. Her classroom, 2 F. There was no one inside but discarded school bags and handouts. Everyone was heading towards the auditorium. Mitsuru's speech. It shouldn't be much longer.

 _She won't even notice I'm not there._

She was seen by people who once called her a friend, a leader, a best friend, a shoulder to lean on, a chick, a big sister, a tomboy. But her wandering eyes didn't catch the dark, hunched figure of the only one who ever called her something _more._

 _He's in a hospital bed and who knows if he'll-_

 _If. Just if._

She wanted to stop walking so bad.

She wanted to curl up in a ball, _and forget all about the world,_ _just like all of the others did._

But Minako's feet wouldn't let her stop walking.

They were stomping her own funeral march on the tiled ground of the hallway.

 _Pat, pat, pat._

 _If you just won't stop,_ _let me at least hope they'll remember me before my last breath. P_ _lease let him say my name for one last time._

 _...and then what?_

* * *

 **Tatsumi Port Island, Gekkoukan High School, Rooftop, 11:02**

* * *

She was finally there on that rooftop, light feelings in her memories, and in her future, nothing.

Minako shuffled unsteadily to a bench, that same bench where she once used to look at the city's dazzling landscape, where she once thought that the world was a beautiful place, after all, and that no matter what, she would live to the fullest the peaceful life she'd fought so hard to gain. Because _peace_ was everything she wanted. Everything she fought for. Everything she never had.

Her feet felt like blocks of lead. The energy in her body was slowly evaporating, like water under the sunlight.

 _"And when we meet again... We should remember how we're feeling right now... That no matter what may happen, we will never look back..."_

 _Oh, Mitsuru. If only I could._

But it was late, so late, too late.

There was no time already and all she had left was a

little

tiny

 _sliver_ of a hope.

Minako shakily lowered herself on the bench. She had to hold onto the sides with both hands not to crash down on it. Her mind could still hope but her body was already despairing. She already knew it would.

"Please..."

Even speaking was difficult, so she just closed her eyes, dark eyelashes fluttering shut, denying the perfectly blue sky over her.

 _Let me hear their footsteps coming. L_ _et me hear their voices, even just from afar._

 _I never asked for anything._ _I won't ask for someone to save me._ _I never did because I know I made the right choice, and I don't regret it._

 _But please just let them remember, as I remember._

 _Even if-_

Then a cold shiver ran down her spine, and she knew it was the last thing she would ever feel in her life.

She would have despaired, but what was the point of it?

Wasn't she brave? Wasn't she happy to save the world? Didn't she make the right choice?

Choice?

 _...Was there ever_ _a choice?_

But it didn't really matter anymore.

Minako opened her eyes.

She was standing in front of the bench, looking down at the chain that was the only remaining link to her body, and to all she ever loved in the world.

She could feel their presence, three monochrome figures standing behind her, pretending to wait for her, as if she still had any reason to stall for time.

She didn't. So she turned around without a tear in her eyes.

They were all looking at her, all three of them, their faces grim, as befits a funeral. Somehow, that angered her. But there was no point in getting angry anymore.

"Arisato Minako," the oldest said, wrinkly words, wrinkly hands on a cane just as wrinkly. "We will accompany you to -" _darkness? your grave?_ "- the Great Seal's Dimension."

He held no expression but his two companions did, she mused. The Gods of Death were more human than she had imagined.

The first stared at her with a serious look that obviously didn't belong under that big, old-fashioned hat of his, and just wouldn't fit with his ridiculously pink kimono, made to impress and maybe to be snickered at, certainly not for him to feel sorry for a complete stranger.

The second looked at her with eyes full of sadness, a sickly man who had Death on his heels as well (she could feel it) but still had happiness, while she didn't. Yet he grieved. For her.

 _Don't look at me with those eyes._

Suddenly she felt like laughing, but she found out she didn't remember how to do it right then.

"No goodbyes, huh. I guess that's better in the end," she said.

For the ones she left, at least. Never, never for herself.

The white-haired man winced, as if he had swallowed her words like something bitter. S _tupid, be happy that you have what I lost and for goodness' sake, stop giving me that look._

"Shunsui. Open the Senkaimon. Take her body with us."

He _hesitated_. She didn't expect that from the old, expressionless man.

"Be careful not to break the Chain."

She could hear from the slightly firmer tone of his second order that he did not want her to notice his pause, but she did.

Minako turned once again to the shimmering city behind her as the pink-clad man gently picked up her limp body from the bench.

She didn't care what they did to her body, or why would they want it in the first place. It was not like she would ever need it again. She only hoped not to be drawn into yet another one of their schemes.

Maybe now, alone in the darkness, she would eventually find some semblance of peace.

She was looking at the sky and suddenly she felt him right behind her, a flash of white hair.

She looked him in the eyes, crimson red into brown, or was it a dark, moss green? He was smiling, she saw in wonder. He was still as sad as before, but he was smiling at her.

He looked like her father for a second. But he had long white hair, _while Dad had... He had...?_ She noticed for the first time that she couldn't really remember. How fickle old memories were.

"Minako-san? Are you ready?" It was a calm whisper in the dead wind.

 _Am I?_

 _No,_ _not ever. Not a bit._

But, again.

"No," Minako answered honestly. She didn't even know how, but she was now mirroring his smile, and somehow it felt just a little lighter around her heart. It wasn't remotely enough.

"No. But it doesn't matter. So, please... Lead the way."

The Gate opened, noiseless but imposing all the same. She stared into the unwelcoming darkness.

Just for one last time, she turned around to the world she knew. The world she came to love so much. The people she was leaving behind. _That_ person.

The two of them did not even have the time for her to say they were happy together. Was it too much to ask for one day, just one more word?

All she had was the memory of a night she _(Not he. Not him.)_ won't ever, ever forget. And a large, gaping hole where he had so roughly made room for himself in her heart, tearing out a piece in the process.

 _Before I noticed, everything was already smeared with his blood._

 _staining my hands dirtying my clothes his fingers on my face a drop of red falling down my cheek instead of tears blood slipping through my fingers there in that puddle on the ground mixed with all the tears I couldn't stop before he told me_

 _"Minako... Don't cry..."_

There was a single, lone, traitorous tear in her right eye. She let it fall, just this once.

 _I'll keep you safe, everyone._

 _I love you, Shinjiro._

Then she turned and stepped forward.

And her black shoes melted into far darker black.

* * *

 **Karakura Town, Kurosaki household, Ichigo's room**

 **August 18th, 2011, 23:46**

* * *

He was in his room, it was almost midnight and he was staring at an empty closet.

Just the other day, he was in a world of blood and spirits and betrayals, and it had all started with someone that used to be in that closet. The strength, the rush, the sadness, black uniforms, a white tower, and now nothing.

It felt so weird to him that it had all passed so fast, and suddenly, there was no one where she used to throw pillows at him.

He knew he would see Rukia and everyone again. That was not what was weighing on his mind.

Since when had he started craving for it?

 _I want power._

 _I have too much I love, and now I need power, to protect what I've always taken for granted._

He couldn't sleep.

He looked downwards at his body, sprawled on the bed in the half-darkness.

There should have been a scar on his stomach. In fact, there shouldn't have been a stomach anymore. He shouldn't have been alive, but Inoue closed him up, and he felt like it had never happened.

 _(Like you weren't completely floored?)_

 _He_ snickered at him in the darkness.

 _(Like he wasn't going to kill Rukia while you couldn't lift a finger?)_

 _(Like you weren't-)_

He kept listing all the things he hated about that moment, and he knew he wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. There was no way for him to block the voices, those damn whispers.

He grimaced. He tried covering his ears with his hands.

 _(Ichigo)_

He felt him in his head and he _wouldn't_ go away.

"Just let me sleep, dammit..."

But he knew it was useless.

He needed to be stronger.

He wanted it.

He wanted the power to protect, to push this stupid Hollow away from his soul and-

 _(To protect you say?)_

 _(Liar,_

he laughed at him in his shrill, crazed voice.

 _You just want to fight)_

* * *

 **Hueco Mundo, Las Noches, Rooftop**

 **August 18th, 2011, ?**

* * *

He was close. _So_ close.

He was so close to reaching that Door he had been looking for, ever since he had discovered Ukitake's classified reports in the Great Spirit Library.

He had it, the Hougyoku created by Kisuke Urahara, right in his hand, ripped out from that woman's soul and fed to his own Breakdown Sphere.

His goal was finally in sight. No more fake kindness. No more empty words.

He raised both his hands in front of him.

The Hougyoku in his left, sphere black and ominous.

A piece of paper in his right, a memento of a lost soul, who had one day unknowingly signed her death sentence on it, and forfeited her freedom.

How silly. How pathetically _weak._

He called to the sphere, closing his eyes.

He could feel it, the energy coming from that paper scrap, so faint it was almost imperceptible. But it would be enough.

 _Lead me to that Gate._

Everything turned dark all around him.

Pitch black chains trapping a gigantic Door appeared from the realm of Possibilities that the Hougyoku opened for him. He could see the fulfillment of his one, deepest desire in the pregnant darkness of the countless chain links.

 _Kill the King, and you'll be God, Sousuke Aizen._

There was only one obstacle to crush, one enormous power to obtain before challenging the Royal Palace, one more obstacle standing in his way.

He now faced that Door.

Dark metal gleamed and tinged the white walls of Hueco Mundo, _his walls,_ with its dull shine.

 _Like coal smearing my pure castle grey_.

He couldn't kill her and he knew, and that angered him to no end.

 _The power of The Universe wasted on a useless child._

What was going through Yamamoto's mind at that time he would never understand.

"Erebus shall be mine." He confirmed it once again to himself, repeating his objective like a mantra. A declaration of intent for everyone to hear. "As shall your power _, Great Seal_. The power to control the Universe."

He smiled at the darkness.

* * *

 **?**

 **?**

* * *

Upwards, upwards, never stopping.

A deep blue elevator moved ever upwards, never stilling.

Its occupants - an old, hunched man and a blonde woman - were marble statues in their stillness.

The long-nosed male resident of the room had his hands on his chin, elbows on the round table in front of him, sitting immobile on an ample quilted couch in the middle of the blue room. The woman, short platinum hair under a dainty blue cap, occasionally broke the stasis of the ambiance by shaking the page of the solid, leather-bound book she was holding. She fiddled with the corner of the worn-out paper before flipping it elegantly, in a fluid motion, and immediately returning to her immobility.

There were no other sounds in the blue room other than the low, humming noise of the elevator moving upwards, upwards, and the crisp noise of rustling paper.

 _Clang._

Suddenly, the world froze, abruptly, a split second and then it was all quiet again. Too quiet.

The woman started at the sudden change.

She - _thump!-_ closed her book with a flick of her small, gloved hand and stared blankly at the elevator door.

"Master."

 _"Hoh...?"_

The man hummed lowly, a hint of surprise in his tone that no one but the trusted elevator attendant would be able to spot.

"This is a most intriguing development..." he continued, eyes firmly in front of him with his back to the open space behind the elevator grate, destined to perpetually move upwards, that had now so suddenly stopped.

"Master Igor," the woman said, a minuscule line creasing her smooth forehead between her light eyebrows. "Could something have happened to the Great Seal?"

"Be at ease, Elizabeth." A slow flick of his hand and he was standing upright, facing the emptiness. "Your brother is always keeping watch over our former guest, as you know. He shall reach us soon."

Not a second later, the cloth covering one of the doors to the side of the couch fell with a grand, dramatic sound.

A younger man walked into the blue elevator room, another light dash of platinum in the calm ocean of blue.

"May I report, Master?"

"Speak, Theodore. What is the cause of this predicament?"

"I am afraid I still do not know for certain, Master..." Theodore nervously glanced at the still walls of the elevator. "However, there has been a definite change in _her_ condition."

"What happened to her, brother?" Elizabeth couldn't stop herself from asking.

"She is unharmed, I believe, sister." He shared her worries and they both knew. "Of course, I cannot enter her Dimension, so I cannot confirm it. However, the Seal is certainly still intact. When I spoke about a change in her condition, I was not referring to the Great Seal herself, but rather, to the Sealed Dimension she resides in. It appears its Outer Gate has been successfully materialized in another dimension."

" _Materialized...?_ How could this happen-?"

Igor abruptly cut off Elizabeth's question.

"Theodore. Was the Outer Gate summoned in the human world?"

"It was not, Master. It appears that the Gate was materialized in a separate dimension. Its name is _Hueco Mundo_... The realm of the Hollows."

"I see."

Igor sat back on the sofa, his hands clutching both knees. He spoke after a few seconds of heavy, thought-filled silence.

"I have been observing the recent developments in both the Human World and Soul Society for a while now. I had hoped it would not get to this point, but it is now apparent to me that some manner of... _intervention_ is required."

He smirked, but his smile never reached his inquisitive eyes.

"Master Igor, what could be the meaning of this?" Elizabeth intervened. "Hollows surely do not possess the power to summon the Gate. Why would it appear there of all places?"

"You are correct. Hollows are nothing but grieving souls deprived of their hearts, former humans whose negative emotions have destroyed them. They could be considered a type of Shadow themselves. And as such, certainly incapable of summoning the Outer Gate. Only an intact Soul may call it forth... such as, our former Guest. However, her power, though immeasurable, cannot reach outside her Dimension."

"Then who...?"

"Even if there are other Guests of this room, there is no human currently capable of wielding such enormous power. Which leaves one last possibility that needs to be explored posthaste."

Igor's always unchanging look of vague scorn and amusement turned vaguely sour as he once again watched the iron cage of the immobile elevator.

"Theodore. Return to your position and observe the condition of the Outer Gate and of Hueco Mundo. Contact me immediately should the need arise, but you are _not_ to act directly, regardless of the circumstances. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Master."

"Elizabeth. Deliver this to Soul Society with the maximum urgency. See to it that it reaches the Captain Commander, he, and he alone."

The long-nosed host of the Room reached a skeletal hand towards the woman, holding something out to her that she swiftly caught and carefully pocketed.

"Understood, Master. Should I call for our sister to assist us as well?"

"No. Margaret has an equally important task to foresee. Our new guest requires her help. You may take your leave."

The two brothers left the Velvet Room through two different doors, and the Master of the room was left alone.

* * *

 _ **Welcome to the Velvet Room, everyone.**_

 _ **I had this on my mind for quite a long while.**_

 _ **I was debating whether or not to list here all the small changes I made in the timelines or in the general plot, but I despise long author's notes, plus, there's really nothing that major for now, aside from the year of Bleach's timeline that I changed to 2011 (I still have no clue what the canon year should be) and other small things you'll surely notice in the future.**_

 _ **The one main difference in the story is that Minako's eventual fate differs from the "canon" plot of Persona 3, as her friends (Aigis included) couldn't keep their promise to meet on Graduation Day. Telling you any more now would be a spoiler, but I just felt it right to point out that due to this fact, the Answer part of Persona 3 FES never happened in this story. What could the consequences be?**_

 _ **Also, the chapter titles will all be pieces of classical music I personally love and find fitting for the contents. We start with a rather grim Funeral March for piano by the poetic genius that was Chopin. I don't claim to be an expert on classical music, but I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.**_

 _ **See you soon, I hope!**_

 _ **Until then, farewell.**_


	2. Fantasy In D Minor K397

**I do not own any part of Bleach and Persona 3 Portable. All rights belong to Tite Kubo and to Atlus. I only own my original storyline.**

* * *

 _ **Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Fantasia in D Minor for Piano K.397**_

* * *

 **Soul Society, Seireitei, Great Spirit Library**

 **August 21st, 2011, 9:16**

* * *

Soul Society was still in chaos over the facts of August 6th.

Captain Ukitake could feel suspicion stirring the air without respite, even in the tranquil, majestic halls of the Great Spirit Library.

Three Captains' betrayal was a scar on the Gotei Thirteen that would not heal so easily or so quickly, a wound inflicted by a man loved and respected by all. He was the last one he would have picked as a suspect traitor, had he been asked, yet he had slipped past all of their defenses so smoothly.

 _I should have been more careful. Kuchiki is my subordinate, but I-_

He left that thought to die on its own. There was no more time for regrets.

The investigation in Aizen's rooms and in the Fifth Division had turned out practically empty-handed, just as he had presumed. He _had_ to find something in the Library, he knew he could.

Even before the betrayal, Sousuke had always been a calculative type, one to carefully research before acting, as one would expect from a respected teacher in the Academy, one that was to set the example for the future generations. The Spirit Library was the only place he could have visited to find what he was looking for.

 _But was that Sousuke-kun I knew any similar to the real Aizen? Did he even exist in the first place, at any point in time?_

Ukitake calmly proceeded to scan all the monitors containing the Library archives, as well as the register for borrowed books and documents. _Aizen Sousuke_ 's name was indeed displayed on a lengthy list of files and consulted books, just as he thought.

He skimmed through the titles.

"Structure and composition of Hollow bodies... Menos Grande... Old research data from the 12th Division, signed by Kisuke Urahara..."

None of these helped him much at this point, even if they were all highly classified documents. As a Captain, Aizen had every right to consult them. They already knew what he had been doing in the past by now. He wanted to know what he planned for the _future._ He needed something more final.

 _Aizen already has the Hougyoku, but what does he need it for?_

"Studies on Hollowification..." he read, as if on cue.

The incident of more than a century prior flashed briefly through his mind. They had lost so many friends, and were forced to persecute them, people who, only now he suspected, had done nothing wrong besides being unluckily caught in someone else's plan.

The Captain shook his head, and his long white hair dangled left and right on his back, uncovering for a second the black ' _Thirteen'_ on the back of his haori.

The list was so long and the titles so diverse that he quickly started feeling restless.

He really was one for strategy and planning, Aizen. So many consulted books... From Kido basics and advanced spells to calligraphy, to tea ceremony, to kendo manuals... _Hah,_ he inwardly sighed, _as if the same Aizen who bypassed a level 90 Kido incantation and almost killed Toshiro-kun in a single blow would need to consult manuals about basic Kido and kendo._

The greatest majority of the files, though, referred to research data he could only assume to be concerning the process of building the Breakdown Sphere. The terms were too scientific for him to read them carefully one by one, though. He would have to leave that to Captain Kurotsuchi later, along with the documents they had already found a few days ago.

"There must be something else..." Something to point him in the right direction, at last.

August 4th, two days prior the betrayal. The list eventually showed an odd entry in the mix.

The Ouken.

The pieces were finally falling into place.

The secret to the Ouken's location was only transmitted orally by the Captain Commanders to one another. There was no way Aizen could have learned that anywhere.

However, Ukitake thought as he opened the documents one after the other, it looked like he had been researching the process for the resurrection of the Key... through _a land rich in souls_.

 _Karakura Town_. The home of the drifters. It was the only place that fit all requirements, save for the million mod-souls he was fairly sure Aizen had long secured, by now. It wasn't like him to push forward a plan without having all the pieces neatly into place.

His objective had to be the Soul King. Why else would he want to go to the Royal Palace? Judging from his final words, it was apparent he intended to take the sovereign's place. To rule. To conquer.

 _Sousuke-kun... Are you really trying to become God?_

Sighing dejectedly, he tried his best to look back at a single time, a single sign, from which he could have understood. A gesture, a word said in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Nothing came up. Had he been too trusting? Or had he willingly decided to close his eyes and turn away from the incongruities?

He suddenly felt like he had been doing that for too long, without even noticing.

Ukitake was about to get lost in his thoughts again, when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the following titles on the screen, down on the very bottom of the list.

His green eyes widened.

"What is this...?"

There were, again, high-level classified documents in front of him, only available for consultation for senior Captains with a special permission form from the Central 46 themselves. Which, of course, he did not currently have, nor could have obtained so easily, had he not been in charge of the investigation, and neither could Aizen.

But even so, he had no need for a permission form _._

 _I know what these are_.

He himself was the one who had compiled them, more than a year before. A time he would rather forget.

Ukitake frowned at the backlit screen, wrestling with guilt he thought he had long buried. He didn't even look at the content of those files. He didn't need to read anything more than the titles to open locked, deeply absconded folders in his brain.

Kirijo Group. Time-manipulation. Shadows. _A wretched research that should never have been started._

 _And a girl_.

 _"She is scarcely more than a **child**!" _

_He heard his voice almost scream to deaf ears, a memory from a time that should not have seemed to him so far away._

 _"How could we? Leave her to such a fate...-? She is just a human!"_

 _"It matters **not** to us." _

_His brain replied in the voice of someone hidden behind a screen, the number 13 on it written in black strokes. How ironic that it should be the same number he had on the back of his haori._

 _"We shall not take that chance."_

 _Not now._

He hushed the voices, his eyes focusing back on reality.

An explosion... a picture of a collapsed bridge.

Many other images stared at him from the screen and from the depths of his mind. The Dark Hour. Strega. SEES.

 _Persona._

His eyes flocked to the next file, a picture of a single white sheet of paper.

 _Why would Aizen look at this.?_

 _No. Don't tell me..._

Unfortunately, he found himself unable to dismiss the theory that had just flashed through his brain, corroborated by one too many coincidences. It looked to him as if all of his worst speculations were unfailingly becoming facts, one by one.

 _I had better check... It could be that he didn't actually do anything more than look. Please let it be so._

He jumped up faster than his ill body would normally allow him, but there was no time to care about that. He checked the safe number once again on the screen before turning towards three rows of black boxes, embedded in the Great Spirit Library's walls one above the other.

The Chained Boxes were specially crafted devices, courtesy of the very best officers in the Kido Corps, used to store incredibly important data and highly classified files, the likes of which soldiers should not be permitted to see if a tranquil sleep was important to them. Not even a Captain's Bankai could destroy them.

He himself had only once opened one, when he had put his reports inside, a year and a half before, never to open it or even to glance at it again.

There was usually a guard in front of the Boxes, blocking the passage and checking the permission forms whenever there was a need to, but there was no one at that time.

 _A guard would have been useless against Kyoka Suigetsu... We only know it far too late, of course_ , Ukitake thought grimly.

He was in charge of the Library investigation, so he had been granted a key because of the emergency situation, a concession likely aided by the forced absence of the Central 46, who would surely not have been so compliant.

He faced the very last box on the right in the middle row, yards and yards of thin, Kido-woven String enveloping its metallic surface like a silk ribbon, stronger than any metal, delving inside the cracks between one box and the next to completely wrap around each cube.

He put the key, a square-shaped, black-lined white rectangle, into the similarly shaped dent left uncovered by the String in the middle of the Box. The thin restraint instantly liquefied, as if melting, slipping down to the floor in a puddle of black, amorphous mass, waiting to return to its function.

The small door was unlocked. He wrenched it wide open.

There was nothing inside.

No white paper. Nor anything else. All the reports and documents he had written were just _gone._

 _Curse you, Aizen... What have you done?!_

He retrieved the card key and turned his back to the Box, while the liquid string - _drip; drip-_ returned solid, aligning in a straight bridge directing upwards drop by black drop, slowly forming a rope again, running along the safe.

He needed to inform Genryuusai-dono.

He wasted not one second more, and left.

The lights turned off as soon as Ukitake closed the door of the consulting room behind himself.

The light on the register screen kept blinking for a second or two longer, dimly illuminating the room. Had someone else been present at that moment, he could have seen the digital picture still neatly displayed on the screen.

Nine words and a signature in neat, precise, final handwriting.

 _I chooseth this fate of mine own free will._

 _Arisato Minako_

* * *

 **Soul Society, Seireitei, First Division Barracks, 9:27**

* * *

Captain Ukitake reached the First Division as fast as could be. His lungs protested against the sudden shunpo by sending a dry cough bubbling up his throat.

He knocked on the door to his former teacher and Captain Commander of the Gotei Thirteen's office. It was Lieutenant Sasakibe who opened, a bit startled at the sudden appearance of the white-haired Captain, but immediately recovering his serious composure, his expression only mildly surprised.

"Good day, Captain Ukitake. I was just about to send for you myself."

"A good morning to you, Lieutenant Sasakibe." He politely answered his fellow Shinigami and old friend's greeting, worriedly considering the Lieutenant's last words. "Were you looking for me? Did anything happen?"

 _He couldn't have opened the Door already, could he? No, it's impossible..._

"Nothing of the sort," Sasakibe immediately eased his worries. "However, the Captain Commander just now ordered me to call for both you and Captain Kyoraku. He needs to speak with you with the maximum urgency. Please, if you could follow me inside, Captain Ukitake."

"Understood. Thank you."

Ukitake entered the office after Sasakibe, with a light, yet uncharacteristic frown on his usually gentle face.

Captain Yamamoto slowly turned towards him.

If he was surprised by his abnormally fast appearance, the Gotei Thirteen's highest ranked officer did not show it. He did nothing more but nod in recognition at his former student, before turning towards his Lieutenant.

"Thank you, Chojiro. You may leave us," he said in his deep, commanding voice. "We are not to be disturbed. Let Captain Kyoraku inside as soon as he arrives. No one else. That is all."

"Certainly, Captain."

The trusted man bowed at his superior officer and then at Ukitake, before turning back and quietly exiting the room, the door's closing making no sound at all behind him.

Alone with his teacher, Ukitake looked questioningly at the Captain Commander.

The old man appeared to be vaguely distressed as well, a detail that few but his former student could be able to spot in his firmly set features. He seemed to have aged even more in just a few days. The situation had certainly weighed on his mind, more than he'd care to admit, Ukitake suspected.

 _And now_ _ **this.**_

Yamamoto lightly slumped his shoulders in what may have been an almost inaudible sigh.

"Since you came here by yourself with such urgency, Juushiro," his eyes narrowed to slits as he spoke. "I can only assume you must have found something of great importance in the Library archives. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Genryuusai-dono. It is a matter of the utmost urgency, I fear. It-"

"And since I found _this_ in my rooms this morning," the old Shinigami interrupted him, holding something bluish in his hand towards the Thirteenth Division Captain, "I assume its presence there could very well be related to your findings."

Ukitake took the small object in his own hand.

It was a light, deep blue key, faintly glowing in his palm.

"The key to the Velvet Room," he said in an almost dejected tone, as if he had been waiting for just that to appear in order to confirm his suspicions.

"Judging by your unsurprised reaction, it appears I was correct."

The Captain Commander's hands tightened on his wooden cane. "If I have been summoned to the Velvet Room... something must have happened to the _Great Seal_. Am I also correct in thinking, Juushiro, that you discovered a connection between Aizen's goal and the Seal?"

"I am afraid so."

The silence stretched between the two for a few seconds, Ukitake frowning and Yamamoto still clutching his cane.

"This is a very grave matter," the Captain Commander said, sitting down on his chair. "With the Central 46 gone, you, me and Shunsui are the only ones who know about what transpired last year, save for a couple of members of the Kido Corps that know nothing but sparse details. Without directions from the judges, I am forced to take this matter into my own two hands. We will wait for Shunsui before visiting the Velvet Room. In the meantime, a report of your discoveries, Juushiro," he ordered, opening his eyes fully to fix them on the younger Captain.

"Yes. It appears that Aizen visited the Great Spirit Library quite frequently." Ukitake set to quickly recap his findings. "Under his name, I found various records of his past consultations about the research on Hollows and Hollowification, and about the Hougyoku itself, though research data on that matter is incomplete and hardly exhausting, or so Captain Kurotsuchi told me. Other than that... It seems he is researching the method of resurrection of the _Ouken._ That in itself is an indication of the fact that he is likely aiming at the Royal Family."

Another moment of collected silence from both parties paused the conversation.

"Hn... I suspected as much. That is not all, though," Yamamoto affirmed, without the slightest trace of a question in his voice.

"Unfortunately not. It seems he also found a way into the Classified Archives and the Chained Boxes. I cannot imagine how-"

"Remember, Juushiro, that he is the reprobate who slaughtered the whole Central 46," his teacher answered his half-asked question. "Furthermore, it is believed the assassination was carried out well before the facts of August 6th, judging on what Captain Hitsugaya reported. It is likely he had all the time to steal one of the 46's keys and to hypnotize the guards. The judges were the only ones who could view or give permission to view those documents freely, and they were known to be all but lenient in their concessions."

"That may very well be true. The documents he consulted, as you can imagine by now, were a detailed report of the incident of 1999 in Tatsumi Port Island, and that of the Apathy Syndrome Epidemic two years ago... Plus, all of the files I compiled last year about the Great Seal and the method we employed to-"

He paused. He didn't want to finish that phrase.

"I-... I opened the Chained Box they were in. _Everything_ is gone. He took them all. I am certain it couldn't have been anyone but him."

Yamamoto said nothing. He simply kept his eyes firmly closed.

 _Could he be recalling all that happened back then?_

Ukitake didn't need to recall.

Guilt wouldn't allow him to forget so easily. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that it was for the best... Whose best, exactly? He found it difficult to give himself a straight answer, even if it should have been apparent to him.

 _One life for billions of others... Isn't it righteous? Isn't it something that cannot be helped? Yet... How could what we did have possibly been right...?_

"There is one last thing to report related to this, Genryuusai-dono."

"Speak."

"Even the girl's Contract has disappeared."

"The _Contract?"_

 _What use could Aizen have for it...?_ Juushiro was certain his former teacher was asking himself just that, as he saw deep lines drawing his eyebrows together.

Yamamoto squinted his eyes again, facing the window and admiring yet another seemingly peaceful morning in Seireitei. He was silent for a while, but when he spoke, it was without his trademark finality and strictness.

"I fear I may have been too careless regarding that incident, Juushiro."

The Captain of the Thirteen Division blinked at those words, mildly shocked.

It was highly unusual for the great Captain Commander to admit his mistakes, even to him. Although his iron rule never faltered in thousands of years, Ukitake knew that the incident in question affected him too, deep down in his mind.

Even now, the subject was something of an unspoken taboo between him and Kyoraku, they between whom there had never been secrets ever since the day they had sworn to assist one another in everything and to always follow their hearts. And though the stern Commander may never admit it, maybe it was also because of what happened then that he had so readily allowed the drifters to help with the current situation. It may have been different, before _then_.

 _He never did trust humans, even if it was his duty to protect them._

"We swore to safeguard the Great Seal, and we _shall,_ " Yamamoto declared with composed determination. "For now, this matter is to be kept secret from the other Captains... and from the human boy and his comrades. Only myself, you and Shunsui will know of this, until further notice."

"Understood. I will wait here for Kyoraku as well."

 _But does she want to be protected by us?_

He wasn't too sure of that.

* * *

 **Velvet Room**

 **?**

* * *

The elevator was exactly as he remembered it, untouched, like a painting. Save one detail.

It wasn't moving upwards anymore.

Its wide, steel framed grate was immobile, and the walls surrounding it no longer slid towards the top of _... what, exactly?_

Shunsui Kyoraku couldn't help but ask himself that while stepping into the familiar room, the mysterious elevator hidden in the shadows of the collective consciousness.

He had been informed by Ukitake of his findings, but right then he really wished he had just kept sleeping in and letting himself be scolded by Nanao-chan. Not even the thought of his cute Lieutenant's angry face could erase the sour taste he had in his mouth at being surrounded by all that... blue. All those memories.

 _Will the poor girl ever have any peace of mind?_

How pointless to ask himself that when he knew the answer. Hypocritical too, maybe.

Regardless, he was happy to have at least helped save one other girl from an unjust sentence, not long ago.

When he had begun to notice the doubts in his heart towards Rukia Kuchiki's guilt, this time, he had _acted_ , even against the old man. He had found that Ukitake shared his exact feelings, as he thought he would. Shunsui knew his longtime friend, always so fond of children, still partially blamed himself over how the _incident_ had ended.

He could never let go of the thought of such a young girl's eyes, so burdened with despair they should not have known, so soon, or at all.

" _Welcome,_ " a familiar voice echoed over his thoughts, "to the Velvet Room, once again. Although, our meetings seem to always foretell grim days approaching."

Igor sat comfortably on his sofa, as always.

Shunsui could not recall seeing him standing up even once: it was as if he was one with his seat. To his left, a platinum blonde-haired attendant looked towards them, a light, polite, business-like half-smirk plastered on her face.

 _Cute, that one... I remember her too. What was her name again?_

"Please, do take a seat, our valuable guests," Igor spoke in his mellifluous, ornate tone. "We have much to discuss. Elizabeth," he gestured at the young woman next to him. "Please bring tea, if you will. Refrain from using your most... _creative_... mixtures, as well."

"Certainly, Master."

The girl seemed to be a little disappointed as she left towards one of the side doors. The Eight Division Captain had a feeling he knew what " _creative_ " meant, though, and he was certain he had seen old-man Yama's eyebrow twitch. Yes, he was definitely thinking about good old Sasakibe's rather... _catastrophic_ attempts at brewing western-style tea.

He had to choke down a rather inappropriate, hearty laugh.

 _Thank goodness Nanao-chan is great at brewing tea. When she doesn't threaten to poison me with it._

"Let us put the pleasantries aside, Igor," Yamamoto began. He sat on a blue chair around the table, directly in front of his host, followed by Ukitake and Shunsui himself who both sat on his two sides, and he did not make any move to stop Elizabeth. "What is the reason for your sudden call, after more than a year?"

"I kept close watch over Soul Society's recently unfolding... _troubles,"_ Igor replied. His voice always seemed to hide a sliver of mockery. Shunsui couldn't help but frown a bit under the shade of his hat, which he removed soon after, setting it on his lap. "Therefore, I am quite sure you already know why I called you, Captain Commander of the Gotei Thirteen. In any case, you can see for yourself that something is amiss, can you not?"

He made a quick, circular gesture in the air with his bony finger tilted upwards, to indicate the room itself.

"Why has the elevator stopped?" Ukitake asked. "What does this mean?"

"There are a few possible causes," Igor answered, bringing his hand back on the blue cloth covered table, intertwined with the other. "In one instance, it happened when the Universe Arcana was first created. I believe you were not in attendance, though."

Again, that twitching of his crooked mouth at the sides under his long nose. Shunsui could never understand how this man thought. Was he mocking their powerlessness? Was he truly concerned? Or possibly both?

"However, this cannot relate to our particular case, since the Universe Arcana has fulfilled its task, and now sleeps peacefully within the Seal. I have run my own investigation-"

In the meantime, the blonde girl - Elizabeth - returned with a small silver tray in her hands.

She set it down smoothly on the small table. Shunsui noticed it was Japanese-style. _How considerate._

"-and it appears that the elevator has stopped due to the Outer Gate being summoned."

"Please elaborate on this," the Captain Commander intervened.

"You already know that the Great Seal's task is to act as a wall between Nyx, the Mother of Shadows, and Erebus, a far more malignant being, born from mankind's negativity," Igor explained. "In order to do so, she forsook her life energy in order to seal Erebus, with the power of The Universe Arcana, into a closed Dimension, preventing him from using Nyx, who is not in itself malevolent, to destroy all existence. Therefore, my former guest currently resides in a Sealed Dimension, whose entrance should be hidden and closed to all. However, said entrance has been recently called forth, forcibly pulled out from the realm of Possibilities by an incredible power. _Inside_ another dimension... Hueco Mundo, to be precise."

A brief moment of tense silence followed.

 _It couldn't possibly get any worse._

Shunsui sighed dejectedly, running a hand through his shaggy hair, held loosely by a string, and along his bearded jaw.

"And the only one capable of such a feat... is Aizen."

Ukitake voiced what they were all thinking.

"It certainly appears that way. I have observed the man during your scuffle in Soul Society. My assistant has just reported to me that he, indeed, summoned the Gate."

"How is this possible...? Isn't the Sealed Dimension supposed to be inaccessible?" Shunsui intervened.

"Erebus's Gate is, indeed, impossible to open, no matter how grand the power used, as long as the Great Seal's soul blocks it with the power of The Universe Arcana. However, Erebus is sealed within a part of the Great Seal's Dimension, a far wider space... One that you, _yourselves,_ helped create, is it not so?" Igor grinned, a gleam in his eyes. "Erebus lies in a chamber there, trapped by a portal that may never be opened until mankind will forfeit its negative emotions. The Great Seal resides _before_ this gate, guarding it, in a place in-between. If we needed a comparison, the structure of this separate world would be somewhat similar to the... you call it _Inner World_ , correct? A place within yourselves where your Zanpakuto's soul resides. Very much like this Velvet Room. But I suppose you already knew that."

"It _is_ indeedpossible to summon the Outer Gate to the Great Seal's Dimension," Igor continued, glancing down at his joined hands, "though an immense power is required. Otherwise, you would not have been able to escort Minako-sama there. You Shinigami also use a portal with similar characteristics, the Senkaimon, is it not? Hollows, instead, use a Garganta, but the concept is similar. The only difference is that though the Outer Gate may be summoned, cracking open the Negation Chains that keep it shut is a nigh-impossible feat, as your own Kido specialists confirmed back then."

"Do we have to assume that Aizen is now attempting to sever these bindings nonetheless?" Yamamoto asked.

"You are the ones who know the man best... or so you thought, I suppose. I have little understanding of what his purpose may be in trying to reach the Great Seal. Which is why I summoned you here in the first place."

Their long nosed host leant forward on the table, inquisitive eyes on the three Shinigami.

"Would you have any idea what this... Aizen's goals may be?"

"I have a suspicion."

Ukitake looked down in his half-drunk teacup, as if waiting for the right words to emerge from the dark liquid. "While looking through the files Aizen consulted in the Great Spirit Library, I found documents concerning the resurrection of the Ouken, a key that opens the way to the Royal Palace where the Soul King resides. Going by what he said just before leaving, I assume he is trying to eliminate him and take his place in order to rule over all souls."

"Hm... How, then, is the Great Seal connected to this?"

 _Your own problems are none of my business,_ was the undertone Shunsui was sure he could infer behind Igor's polite speech.

"I cannot be sure of the exact moment when Aizen found out about it, but..." Ukitake continued. "My best guess is that, while trying to uncover secrets useful to his plans, he found the classified files by chance and deemed them useful. I myself do not understand why such a calculating man as him would change his plans so abruptly."

"Unsurprising. I have seen many a man like him," Igor said, his hands joined together under his chin. "If what he is seeking is dominion and destruction, then it is only natural for him to be drawn towards Erebus. Negativity is always attracted by an even deeper, blacker negativity, in an endless struggle. With the being's powers, ruling the world would be far from an impossible task. However... they always make the same mistake." He shook his misshapen head in mock disapproval. "He who has never lost a battle cannot imagine a being more powerful than himself. He will be consumed by his own negative feelings as soon as Erebus is set free. What foolishness."

"If that happens... all humanity will eventually perish." Yamamoto stated, narrowing his eyes.

"It is more adequate to say that humanity will forfeit all will to live." Igor corrected, waving a bony finger.

 _The Lost._ People who had forsaken all desires and hopes. People who only had Death to wait for. And _Shadows._

"I thought the Negation Chains were indestructible..." Ukitake mused. "How could Aizen ever plan to break them? I remember writing in my report that there is no method to dispel them to our current knowledge. At least that was what the Kido Corps told us at the time, although the few people who were involved knew very little of their true purpose. He has surely read that in the stolen documents. And Aizen wouldn't embark on a hopeless journey."

"Certainly, no spiritual power is great enough to destroy them with pure brute force, nor any dispelling technique could be effective. However, please bear in mind that there is no such thing as an indestructible chain or a Kido impossible to dispel in this world, Captain."

The Master of the room playfully waved his finger left and right again, in a denying gesture.

"Time delivers all to the same end. A Chain created by mortal beings will eventually crumble, as is its destiny, when faced with the appropriate power. Although, great as Sousuke Aizen's power may be, he is but a single Shinigami. I cannot imagine what his plans may be."

"He must be plotting something," Shunsui grimly concluded.

Aizen was no man to give up on what he wanted.

He had already summoned the Gate. If he were to meet the girl... She might have been immensely powerful, but she was only human.

 _A human... Is that good or bad, in this situation?_

"Might the Contract aid him in his plans?" Ukitake suddenly interjected.

" _Hoh?_ He has the Great Seal's Contract, then?"

Igor lightly smirked.

 _I bet he's thinking we can't even protect a piece of paper. I really don't like him, but I like even less the fact that he's right._

"Indeed. It has disappeared."

"Then it is clear how he managed to summon the Gate. The Contract itself is far more than a simple document. It is a pact of power, binding its contractor for eternity. He likely followed our valued guest's... _reiatsu_ , as you Shinigami would call it, embedded on the paper, in order to open a portal in his own castle."

Igor shook his head again and closed his eyes, deep in consideration, or so he wanted to appear.

There were no clear-cut emotions in that Room. All was mediated, hidden, distorted, as if the dimension whole was attempting to challenge the psyche of its visitors.

"There is not a moment to be wasted, then."

The Captain Commander finally rose from his chair, taking his cane with him as he moved back.

"I thank you for your help, Igor. If what we just discussed holds, we still have some time to prepare ourselves for a countermeasure. Even without the Central 46, the Gotei Thirteen will eliminate the traitor and protect the Great Seal as promised."

"Hm... I shall observe your results, if that is the path you have chosen. You are free to enter the Velvet Room again, should you have any _doubts_."

There it was, that smirk again.

"I would suggest you to be wary, though," Igor calmly added. "Should Aizen actually _succeed_ to open the Outer Gate, you ought to prevent him from reaching Minako-sama before you do. She is fully unaware of what happens in the world outside her Dimension, and she does not know him, nor what he did. He is a wretched man... and powerful as she may be, she was a human girl, and even in her current state she continues to be one. And I have a feeling that your last encounter did not leave her a... _positive_ impression of Soul Society."

That was what Shunsui had thought as well, just moments before.

Somehow, hearing it said out loud was unsettling to him. Oh but how he _wished_ he could wipe that smirk off this guy's face...

 _No. I wish I could wipe away the uneasiness of knowing that what he says is most likely the truth._

 _She must hate us... and we deserved it fully._

"Take care, Captains of the Gotei Thirteen. I shall send Elizabeth with further news, should the need arise. _Until next time..."_

The blue space warped into darkness.

* * *

 _ **Welcome to the Velvet Room, everyone.**_

 _ **We proceed further into the story with a rather explanatory chapter, introduced by some classic Mozart. I generally tend to favor piano-based pieces, but that will not always be true. I love this Fantasy for piano because it starts out almost gently, like a lullaby, a bit melancholic, then suddenly a new mood interjects, like doubt, or regret, and then we arrive at a flurry of notes, powerful like a shocking discovery. I find it perfect for the nature of this chapter.**_

 _ **I must here thank each and every one of you who had the kindness to follow or favorite this story. I would never have imagined to receive such a warm reception from the very beginning, especially since this is only my second story. Thank you, all of you. I hope you will stay with me and tell me if you think I'm going in the wrong direction. Also, a necessary special thank you for michelous, basecannon and the ever kind ImpsWithHats for taking the time to review. I hope I will not disappoint.**_

 _ **As I already said in my other story, September is going to be a difficult month for me, since I am less than 20 days from graduating university and happily procrastinating like the lazy idiot I am. Nevertheless, since I already have a number of chapters written, I will try to post on a regular basis, once a week for now.**_

 _ **See you all soon in the Velvet Room, I hope!**_

 _ **Until then, farewell.**_


	3. String Quartet No2, Third Movement

**I do not own any part of Bleach and Persona 3 Portable. All rights belong to Tite Kubo and to Atlus. I only own my original storyline.**

* * *

 _ **Béla Bartók, String Quartet Number 2, Op. 17, III: Lento**_

* * *

 **Karakura Town, Street**

 **September 3rd, 15:42**

* * *

Damn it.

 _Damn it..._

He had taken just three steps forward, but the whispering was getting louder, and louder.

Like a bug ( _I...)_ writhing ( _chi...)_ in his ear. ( _go...)_

 _"You may be friends now, but-"_ (stop that.)

 _"If you continue as a Shinigami, you'll slowly be devoured by the Hollow inside you-"_ (just stop.)

 _"-and_ _ **lose your mind."**_

Ichigo punched the wall next to him with all of his strength.

His fist left a large hole in it, pieces of cement crumbling down to the ground. He felt a sting of pain and a sandy, powdery texture rubbing on live skin. Retracting his hand, mindlessly looking down on it, he saw that his right hand was now covered in light grey dust, his knuckles torn and bleeding. But he didn't care.

He just wanted the noise to stop. He needed silence. He couldn't take it anymore.

 _Did it stop...?_

Of course it didn't.

He wouldn't ( _Ichigo_ ) leave him be ( _Ichigooo_ ) so easily.

He kept hearing him in the background. All the time.

Cars passed him by, students like him were chatting on their way home about pointless problems, housewives complained about their kids in the loudest voice possible, yet even in the chaos and chatter and empty conversations that bastard Hollow ( _that's not nice_ ) inside his mind just _wouldn't_ leave. He heard his voice, all the time, always, always ( _aaaalways_ ).

Ichigo couldn't even tell when exactly his condition had started getting so bad. _He_ wasn't that loud in Soul Society.

 _Why now?_ Had his condition worsened because he had come back in his living body after so long?

 _No... if anything, could it have been because of last night...?_

 _"I will teach you how to keep your sanity in check."_

Hirako's voice from the night before was in his mind as well, somewhere among the constant calling. He recalled his proposal to join those... Vizards, was that how he called them? Ichigo didn't really want anything to do with those guys. He had no reason to trust them. He could handle this on his own, he would figure something out.

He was a Shinigami ( _you sure?),_ and that was enough. He... he _was._

 _(you wish)_

"I said _stop it_!"

The people passing by looked at him funny for a second at the sound of his yell, echoing in the crowded street.

There was a stunned silence for just an instant. But they didn't seem to care that much about a stranger, after all, and scuttled away almost immediately, some sending a couple of worried glances in his direction, some disregarding him altogether. He didn't give a damn what they thought about him, if they thought he was crazy, or a punk, or depressed, or whatever. All he wanted was to be alone for a while. And _silence,_ finally _silence_.

 _Maybe then it would go away._

Ichigo shuffled forward on the familiar route to his own house, trying to distract his mind from the noise, thinking about every stupid stunt Keigo had ever bragged to him about since he had met him and every single time he had been attacked by some punk in school, in order to distance his thoughts from _him_ and his accursed clamoring.

By the time he had regained enough awareness of himself to notice his surroundings, he was back in his room, somehow. His dad had elbowed him in the face downstairs, but he didn't even feel the hit all that much, besides getting inevitably thrown down to the floor by the impact.

He was just... _numb._ Tired.

Kon had left some time ago as well, mumbling something he hadn't really listened to.

The orange haired teen felt bad about distancing himself from his family and friends, but they couldn't help him, and he couldn't explain. It was his problem. Yet another secret to keep. How many more?

He just laid on his bed, face down, grabbing the pillow in a futile attempt to draw out the noise.

He felt him shouting, yelling, talking to him, and it was useless to ignore him.

 _(Yo King)_ **go away**

 _(So cold)_

 _(Didn't you miss me)_ **leave me alone**

 _(But I have something great to tell you Ichi)_ **just leave me alone**

 _(Don't you feel it Ichi)_ **I only feel like shit and that's because of you asshole**

 _(You should be careful)_

"...?"

He couldn't help but be interested.

He was... _warning_ him? The _Hollow?_

No... this was weird. It had to be a trap. Whatever it was, he didn't like it one bit.

 **about what**

He decided to just ask outright, regardless of his doubts.

 _(The twenty-fifth hour)_

The Hollow replied with an incomprehensible answer.

 _...the what?_

 **what are you babbling about**

(...)

 _He_ suddenly stopped answering altogether.

Suspicious.

 _There's something wrong here._

 **hey do you hear-**

"Ichi-nii?" Karin's voice broke him out of the weird conversation playing in the depths of his mind. "Can I come in for a second?"

* * *

 **Hueco Mundo, Las Noches, Meeting Room**

 **September 3rd, 10:08**

* * *

His ten Espada and their respective Fracciónes were in front of him, all scattered around a wide, amphitheatre-like room. Him, sitting on his elevated throne with Gin and Kaname standing at his sides, a couple of steps behind, one with a perpetual grin on his face, one expressionlessly facing the crowd with blind, blank eyes.

He was their King, their _God_. It didn't hurt to remind his soldiers who they ought to worship, from time to time.

Sousuke Aizen's brown, ever mildly amused eyes flocked around the room, scanning the humanized faces and the many different masks as if trying to choose a single one in the crowd.

He already knew which power he needed, though.

"Ulquiorra," he called.

The black-haired Cuatro Espada calmly stood and walked to the center of the room, kneeling in front of the throne. Expressionless.

 _His own face looks like a mask,_ Sousuke Aizen considered with disinterest. He was a useful one, though. Loyal. Never complaining. The perfect soldier, indeed. Something he couldn't say about many of the other Arrancar that surrounded him. But they too were useful and amusing in their own way.

"Yes, Aizen-sama," Ulquiorra answered monotonously, closing glowing green eyes, bowing down his head imperceptibly in deference.

"I want you to visit the Human World," Aizen replied. "There is an enemy you must face for me."

He had his hand up in the air even _before_ he could hear the loud cries of protest of some of the other Espada.

He knew Nnoitra and Grimmjow at the very least wouldn't stay quiet, since they had long been craving for a chance to go and try themselves against a Shinigami, and he had a feeling Szayel needed one or two _"samples_ " for a _"research"_ the pink-haired Octava thought he knew nothing about _._ _How naive._

He had no need for their opinion, though, and his hand quelled any remark before it left their mouths. Once he was certain there would be no interruption, not without amusement, Aizen lowered his hand with measured slowness and rested his chin on it, setting his elbow on the throne's armrest.

"I want you to find a specific person for me, and fight him," he added, calmly smiling at Ulquiorra. "I trust you will have no difficulties. As of now, there are few relatively high spiritual signatures in Karakura Town, and none even remotely approaching your level. Think of it as little more than a scouting mission."

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

Even his responses were all the same. All the same faces, all the same words. He would never tire of these new modified Arrancar. So monstrous, yet so humanlike. It was a contrast that fascinated an experimental mind like his _._

 _Although, well-made as they are, they remain pawns on my chessboard,_ he mused, still gazing down at the Cuatro Espada. _Expendable... all of them. But still, useful._

"Your target is a human boy named Kurosaki Ichigo," Aizen continued aloud, meeting the Espada's empty pools of green now staring at him from below. "He has bright orange hair, an extremely large Zanpakuto as shikai and a completely black, long sword as bankai. Pressuring him will soon make him reveal it. He is quite hotheaded and rash. I want you to test his strength."

"Am I required to kill him?" Ulqiorra asked, emotionless, not even the slightest tilt of his head to indicate uncertainty. The tone he used barely revealed the intonation of a question.

A good question, nonetheless _._

 _It would be good to kill him before he matured and became dangerous,_ Aizen thought as he ran a lithe finger down the other armrest of his white seat. He had further plans for the boy, though, and he was fairly sure he would somehow survive an encounter with the emotionless Cuatro. Even though his current level was likely nothing but _trash_ , as Ulquiorra would have defined it _._

 _But... he has a hidden source of strength he will soon need to control._

Evaluating his current strength couldn't hurt. That, and he wanted to see for himself how far had the Hollow inside him progressed in his mind. He had to admit, the possibility of Ichigo Kurosaki being consumed by his own shadows was beyond intriguing, as well.

The boy was indeed positively fascinating. Shinigami and Human... and _what_ a human. A mix of two opposite variables.

"You may judge his fighting ability for yourself," the traitorous Captain told the black-haired Espada. "If he is useless, as it is likely from my previous meeting with him, then there is no reason to keep him alive. Kill him and any of his comrades that may hinder your mission."

"Understood."

Ulquiorra was halfway through standing up from his kneeling position, when a booming voice interrupted the quiet.

 _"Tch..._ How come Ulquiorra is the only one that gets to go?" Yammy grumbled from his seat, noisily clicking his tongue for good measure.

Aizen had expected him to complain. He was surely as rash, but even less intelligent than Grimmjow or Nnoitra. At least they knew that there was a right and a wrong time to speak, even if their respect for him was nothing more than a façade through gritted teeth, another fact that amused him to no end.

 _However._ He actually had nothing to lose from sending someone else there. More chaos might draw out the boy faster... and the Cero Espada may have been the best choice for the job.

"Why? Do you wish to accompany him, Yammy?" Aizen asked, turning his head towards the bulky Arrancar.

"There is no need, Aizen-sama, if I may," Ulquiorra uncharacteristically intervened. Always the loner, him as well. "I am perfectly capable of handling this myself."

"Hey, quit being such a stick in the mud, Ulquiorra. I just wanna unwind a bit. I'm getting bored as fuck in here," Yammy scowled at the green-eyed Espada.

Their whole beings were just so different from one another he actually could not help finding the mismatch interesting. It was not the first time he had paired them together for training or a mission to exterminate some renegade Hollows outside Las Noches, much to both parties' annoyance. He was fairly certain that Ulquiorra, at least, had hated every single minute of it, even if he would die before admitting it. The fact amused him to no end _._

 _Hm... I suppose a bit of Gin's sadistic streak has rubbed off on me during the years_. _It is not a bad feeling..._

"Very well, then. You may go as well, Yammi... as long as you keep your focus on the mission," he warned, watching the Espada smirk in satisfaction. As if he was actually capable of focusing on anything but himself.

"Thank you, Aizen-sama!"

Yammi bowed down to him and grinned victoriously at Ulquiorra, who did nothing but close his eyes in what was likely to be an indication of annoyance.

"You may all go. You are dismissed."

Aizen briskly concluded the meeting with a flick of his elegant hand, calmly rising from his throne as he watched the Arrancar stir.

The giant and the lean Espada left the wide room together, or, more precisely, Yammy arbitrarily decided to follow an unresponsive and likely annoyed Ulquiorra, while everyone else scattered, some complaining through their teeth, some wholly uninterested, followed by their respective Fracción.

"You are allowed to leave as well, Gin, Kaname," he addressed his two fellow Shinigami, as he placidly descended the white steps that led down from his throne and to the center of the room.

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

The blind former Captain of the Ninth Division simply followed the order. He bowed his head and swiftly disappeared somewhere with shunpo. Likely to his own chambers.

Gin had never been that obedient, though, ever since the day he had met him in the Fifth Division.

The white-haired Shinigami made no sign of having any intention to move from his spot as he watched Aizen descend the staircase. The former Captain of the Fifth Division felt his presence right behind him as soon as he had reached the door that lead outside to one of the numerous and ever changing hallways of Las Noches.

"You goin' to the Door again, Captain Aizen?" the silver-haired man asked, a perennial smirk turning upwards the corners of his thin mouth.

He had always been rather perceptive, even as a child. Nothing, not even the smallest of details seemed to go undetected by his narrowed, snake-like, icy eyes. That was one of the reasons why Aizen hadn't bothered keeping the summoning of the Gate unexplained. He would have found out its relevance soon enough by himself. The Door wasn't exactly _inconspicuous_ , after all.

"I am, Gin. Though all of my efforts have proved useless so far."

He continued walking as he spoke, navigating through the corridors towards the highest peak of Las Noches, the rooftop of the highest white tower. Gin kept following him without even asking for permission, no hesitation in his gait _. It seems he has little else to do but pester me today,_ Aizen considered, not without amusement, as he turned around a corner, moving with calculated steps.

"How could those Chains be so damn _tough_ , though..." the silver-haired man wondered aloud, always looking straight at Aizen's figure in front of him. He could feel his questioning gaze on his shoulders even without turning towards him. Gin loved discreetly, or sometimes quite obviously, poking at people's exposed nerves, and that almost outright disrespectful habit didn't fully go away even when he was talking to him, his _King_ and soon to be _God._ "Were they made with a special type of Kido, or somethin'?"

"It was indeed a Kido spell that built them, but a different one from those normal Shinigami learn at the Academy," Aizen answered as he started to finally ascend the narrow, long staircase to the Rooftop. He didn't much enjoy shunpo if he could help it. This was his castle, after all. Why not enjoy a walk? Only unwanted guests hurried their steps.

"This technique has been deemed forbidden as soon as it was created, roughly a century ago, going by Ukitake's joint reports with the Kido Corps. The Chains are held together by the combined power of many mod-souls, compressed together into pure reishi, in its rawest state. Much like what I would need to do during the summoning of the Ouken. The resulting substance is not purely matter, but more akin to a _phenomenon_ of sorts. Something a Shinigami cannot fight with pure strength. Unlike a normal Kido, forbidden techniques are almost always impossible to dispel altogether. This too is one of those few incantations from which there is really no return, once pronounced."

"How d'you plan to go inside, then?" Gin asked, cocking his head. "If you can't dispel the Chains..."

"I am still unsure," Aizen answered, thoughts turning in his brain as he mulled over the same question he had been posing himself for days. "I must find a way to bypass the Seal's ultimate defenses and open a portal to the Sealed Dimension without breaking the Chains, I suppose, but that will be an hazardous task."

As far as Ukitake's reports and documents went, the Great Seal's Dimension could only be entered through the Outer Gate. No shortcuts. There was no other way but going through the main entrance. Which seemed to be physically impossible, according to the Kido Corps' report on the Negation Chains' crafting process. It was to be expected from Soul Society. The restraints were made to keep an unfathomable power sealed, after all... _Two powers, actually._

"However... as long as I have the Hougyoku, I shall succeed," he added, without a trace of uncertainty, his voice as firm and commanding as always.

 _I have succeeded in the impossible once. I shall do it again and again, for as long as it takes._

"Ya think so?" the silver-haired man's smirk visibly grew. He was certain of it from the tone of his voice, even without seeing it. He just couldn't help it, sneering at people's efforts. Maybe that was why he had always thought him so resourceful and useful, Aizen considered with a half-smile himself. "The Universe Arcana is supposed to be the strongest power in all worlds, yeah? You sure you actually can stand up against it? The Hougyoku doesn't make any _miracles_."

"Very true," he answered.

The Breakdown Sphere did not make the impossible reality. It had its limitations. His purpose was only to make the desire in his host's heart become true, but only if he already had, dormant in his soul, the power to attain it. The problem only burned down to that one question in the end, one he had long answered in his mind.

 _Do I have the power to be God?_

Of course he did... And if he did not, he would have to do nothing more than strip the power from someone else. Again, and again. And he would soon stand on top of the world.

"Say," Gin interrupted the flow of his thoughts again, as he followed him upwards on the white steps. "Do you need to kill that Seal girl to get that Erebus thing you're looking for?"

"No," Aizen replied, the ghost of a frown marring his perfect, statuesque traits and his chiseled jaw contracting for less than a second. His expression reverted back to neutral as he continued with his explanation. "Erebus is a being impossible to control, without the power of The Universe Arcana. At this moment, the girl's soul has been forcibly separated from her body in order to act as Seal. If I killed her in such a state, the Seal would disappear, and the creature would break free unsupervised, destroying all on its path. It is imperative for me to capture the girl _alive_... For the time being," he was compelled to add. "What I aim to do is simply to make her use her own, immense power to my advantage."

"Oh? How?"

He was getting a little bit too nosy for his liking, the self-proclaimed new God of Hueco Mundo thought. An occurrence that did nothing but further his suspicions that he was hiding something from him. Well, he had never been one to share secrets, Gin, and Aizen was not the type to take interest in others, outside the scope of their usefulness to him. Yet, he felt that his silver-haired companion was quite more assertive than he should have been, lately.

He wasn't in the habit of trusting anyone but himself, and if Gin Ichimaru thought he could be an exception to said rule, he would soon discover how mistaken he was. Nevertheless, telling him about his current plans did nothing to hinder him, whether his inkling proved to be true or not. There was nothing he could do to stop him. Yet, it amused him to think of what convoluted plan he would try to come up with.

"The first step is gaining control of the Great Seal herself. She holds the power of many different Arcana through her Persona, coupled with the energy of the Universe Arcana that holds the Seal together. That is why she may be able to submit Erebus' power to myself, through the Hougyoku's will," he explained.

"Aah, I get it now," Gin clapped his hands together once, with a crisp, loud sound echoing down the staircase. "The Hougyoku makes wishes real for everyone around it, but only if you have enough power to do that hidden in your heart. The Great Seal sure has a crapload of power, if she can govern the Arcana. So. If she desires from the bottom of her heart for a way to give you control over Erebus... the Hougyoku's gonna make her desire truth, just as it did for those human kids, and you're gonna be King of everything. Right?"

"Well thought, Gin," Aizen smiled as he glanced at dim light above him, coming from the exit. "The girl wouldn't use the Universe's power for anything more than keeping up the Seal. A waste indeed, would you not say? The Universe Arcana, coupled with the power of the Hougyoku, would open any door for me in a matter of seconds. Even the Royal Palace's. I intend to obtain it, and Erebus through it, to use as my weapon. That is why finding my way through that Gate as soon as possible is so crucial, before Soul Society has the time to meddle. I _know_ the girl wants to break out, whether she realizes it or not. Anyone would. I will feed her own desire, in order to achieve mine."

"Well, how 'bout making some of the Espada... _butt their heads_ on your problem?" Gin said, his smirk widening even further. "Maybe they'd find a way to open the Gate?"

"Their efforts would be all but futile. As I said before, raw strength means nothing to those Chains. But I assume you already knew that, Gin."

A light smile tugged again at his lips as he looked over his shoulder at the silver-haired man, grinning back in response.

His favorite pastime was to annoy everyone in his sights, and he knew it very well. He wouldn't put it past him to encourage some hot-headed Arrancar, and he had a feeling it wouldn't be hard to guess at which, to try themselves on the Door, and looking back at Gin he had the confirmation he needed.

"Dunno what you're talkin' bout. I didn't do anything, cross my heart," he lightly shrugged.

"All these broken oaths are going to weigh on your conscience sooner or later, Gin," Aizen responded sarcastically.

 _Rather sooner than later... If you are planning to betray me._

"Don't say that. Gives me the chills."

* * *

 **Hueco Mundo, Las Noches, Open Rooftop, 10:32**

* * *

They were finally on the rooftop.

There was no wind in Hueco Mundo, unless he wished for it, so everything was perfectly immobile around them.

Before them, a huge, dark grey door stood, its outer edges faintly glowing silver under the fake morning sky.

The Chains were obsidian black, a shade darker than anything he'd ever seen, so intensely black that they gave off no reflection at all from their surface, as metallic objects were usually supposed to. The single links' contours were indistinguishable from one another, as if they were made of the same substance as a black hole, absorbing all light, turning the whole structure into a dark, depthless stain against the scenery. There was no third dimension, no sense of perspective. Only black.

Aizen couldn't help but be fascinated each time at the sublime beauty hidden in this power, crafted from souls created by other souls, crammed together and shaped into this... _event._ Whoever invented this technique deserved the highest of praise, even if he or she had placed a considerable hurdle on his path.

The Gate was intact, not a single scratch on its smooth surface, entirely devoid of decorations. However, the floor bore the mark of more than one failed attempt to even so much as dent the black Chains. There were scratches, bloodstains, rubble and signs of explosions everywhere he looked.

He smirked at the thought of a frustrated Sexta Espada trying to at least scratch the Door, possibly replaced by an even more frustrated Nnoitra, at will. He could sense Gin's amusement from behind him.

He had better things to do but to scold his second in command, though.

Aizen focused all the reiatsu he could gather from inside his soul in his right hand, power flooding the area as even Gin had to take a step back.

Slowly, he reached out a long, confident fingertip towards the Chains.

As soon as the skin of his index clad in energy approached the black surface, where one would expect to feel the cold touch of metal, the finger found only pain in place of the obstacle, not fast and stinging, but continuous and maddening, almost burning. His digit, instead of being stopped by the Chain's surface, proceeded inside the depthless black as if sucked in.

It felt like dipping a finger in pure, instantly corrosive acid, a sensation that brought a little crease of pain to surface, even on his perfectly controlled and smooth forehead, for a second.

He felt his reiatsu being sucked away, pulled by an incredible force.

The rebellious Shinigami retracted his hand to find the top of his right index finger completely gone, disappeared just up to the small ending crescent of his nail.

He distinctly saw the live flesh around the bone, left suddenly uncovered by the absence of skin, ooze out red blood in protest, the contours of the wound neat and precise, as if the finger had been just cut with the very sharpest of knives, severing flesh, nail and bone alike with a single swing.

A red stain pooled on the white ground and a few drops fell on his white hakama; he was quick to cast a healing Kido, reconstructing the missing part, the flow of blood ebbing away.

"That looks like it hurt..." Gin was mildly impressed.

"Anything that enters the Chains' perimeter is completely _negated_. Had I tried to grab it with my palm, I would have lost my whole hand. It seems not even directly touching it with a condensed reiatsu coating is enough."

" _Aaaah._.. So that's why Szayel keeps complaining about loads of Espada comin' to him to get fixed up, even if we're still not fighting yet. Had no idea," the silver-haired former Third Division Captain looked quite pleased with himself, despite his words, and shrugged. Ever the sadist. "Gotta hand it to the little kid, though... She's made up some damn tricky stuff. She knows her Kido, and she's a human, at that," he added, whistling in appreciation.

He felt his blood boil at the gesture.

"She isn't the one who made this Chain," he answered coldly. "Someone like _her_ never could."

"Huh?"

It bothered Sousuke Aizen to no end.

The fact that a simple, fragile, _worthless_ human had a power greater than his, greater than a _God's_. He felt hatred pool in the gap behind his customary unfazed mask, ever plastered on his face, made to hide his thoughts from the most observant of stares. He was positive he had never wanted to erase someone's existence from the world so... _badly._ It went against his every objective and belief, he realized.

He knew a great deal about Minako Arisato, from Ukitake's documents on her. She was _nowhere_ as strong as he was. _Nowhere_ as intelligent. _Nowhere_ as naturally gifted. She was nothing but a common _nobody_ , who became an all-powerful being by pure _chance_ and no more than that. If that robot-weapon hadn't sealed Death inside her twelve years prior, she would have been a normal, unaware woman living her useless, weak existence.

He couldn't accept it. He, who had patiently constructed his plans in the shadows for so long, would never acknowledge this child. It would have meant admitting that she was a superior being, just like he was, admitting that a worthless human constituted an hindrance to his plans. _Unacceptable_.

That was one of the reasons why he had decided to pursue another road, instead of simply destroying Karakura Town to resurrect the Ouken.

He simply _refused_ Arisato Minako's existence as the Great Seal.

He wasn't even too sure he knew exactly where his almost irrational hatred towards her came from, but he did know he despised that girl profoundly, and that he secretly relished to see her one day broken and twisted in pain at his feet.

Without her Persona ability, she was a common human. There was no way she could stand up to any Shinigami in a fight, even more so when it was _him_. She would be dead in seconds.

It was unusual of him. He was never one for pointless violence. He believed in slowly, steadily squeezing out everything a person had to offer, rather than outright kill them, and her power was nothing to sneer at, even he could admit it.

But _her..._

Yet, he couldn't kill her just yet. He had to keep her alive and manipulate her weak, fragile heart to do his bidding, once again playing the part of the good man he had consolidated in all those years.

 _It will be different, as soon as you are of no use to me anymore, girl_.

 _"Hm...?_ What's that, Captain Aizen?"

Gin pointed at the Door, unusually serious for once.

His unusual tone was what broke Aizen out of his murderous thoughts.

The former Captain followed the path of the man's finger upward, quietly surprised at the sight of what he was gesturing at.

He had not noticed, before then.

The Chains were perfectly still as always, not an inch out of place from when he first saw them. However, the _Door_ itself, behind them...

"Has it... _opened_ a bit?" Gin asked, surprised himself.

"It looks that way."

Truly, the two sides of the Gate were now slightly ajar, Aizen saw from his spot.

The space between them was less than an inch, but it was definitely not open when he had seen the Door last.

"What an interesting development..." he mused, talking more to himself than to Gin. "I have never been able to touch the Door itself beyond the Chains, all this time. What could have caused this?"

The strange fact did not help him in the slightest, at least for now. The Chains, firmly wedged to the gate's sides and crossing in front of it, with a narrow space between them and the Door itself, did not allow him to even step close to the small gap, never mind prying it open further. He couldn't even peek inside, from where he was standing.

Though...

"Can you feel it, Gin?"

"Yeah..." The silver haired man was looking at the opening in pure fascination. "I'm positive I've never felt a reiatsu like that in my life. So far away, but 't makes me shake down to my boots. Is it... _that?"_

"Indeed."

The feeling of a foreign spiritual pressure was steadily seeping out from the opening, like gas floating through the air, slowly filling up the space around them as if trying to envelop them.

Aizen felt it as a sort of... _calling._

As if the creature inside was directly speaking to him, asking him to hurry and free it from its shackles. To hurry and destroy the obstacle that detained it.

He closed his eyes, allowing himself to feel the reiatsu pouring down the rooftop, all around Hueco Mundo.

 _I wonder what effect this unexpected development will have on my plans..._

* * *

 **Karakura Town, Urahara Shop**

 **September 3rd, 23:51**

* * *

"Inoue..."

Ichigo was bent down next to the girl, looking intently at her, continuously checking her breathing with a sour look.

 _It's my fault, my fault..._

Those two could have killed her.

They could have killed Tatsuki. They could have killed Chad. They would most likely have killed him, if Urahara and Yoruichi-san hadn't intervened.

She had told him before not to apologize, when she was still awake. What the hell was he supposed to do, besides apologize? _(Ichi...)_ It was nothing but his fault, because he had once again let the Hollow asshole inside him get in the way, exactly as he was still doing right in that moment, constantly trying to get his attention like the damn spoiled child he was.

All this time, thinking he had the situation under control, that he needed no help from whatever group Hirako was part of, that he was strong _(Ichigo)_ enough, yet he still failed.

He needed to protect everyone, but he _failed_. And this time, people had gotten seriously hurt. His _friends_ had almost died.

"Ichigo, she's going to be alright," a female voice came from over his shoulder.

Yoruichi was standing behind him in her human form, arms loosely crossed in front of her athletic body. He could see her limp slightly, though, as she approached them _(Iiii-chigo),_ and her arm was bandaged up to her shoulder.

"Orihime was right, you know. Drop that depressed look already. Nobody died," the dark-skinned woman said with a sigh, concerned golden eyes looking briefly at Inoue before shifting back to his. "That's all you should care about. Stop hurrying it."

 _Hurrying..._ "I know that." It didn't help in the slightest.

What was the use of having power later when _(IIIIchiiigooo)_ he needed it now?

 _Damn it..._ the bastard just kept clamoring louder and louder and _louder_.

Wasn't it even somewhat worse than usual...?

Ichigo looked around the small bedroom on the first floor of the Urahara Shop, scanning the walls for a clock, finding one to his left. The handles indicated 23:56, the seconds dimly ticking away in the background - _tick tock tick_...

He had been there at Urahara's for much longer than he had imagined. Without Inoue healing, the process took a lot longer.

He once again turned towards his sleeping classmate, with a frown on his face drawing his orange eyebrows together.

Chad was in no better condition. He was lucky Inoue made it in time and healed him immediately. He didn't know if anyone but her could have done it.

 _I have to be stronger... I have to find that power... I have to (I-CHI-GO)_

"Dammit..." he clicked his tongue in frustration.

 _What the hell is up today?_

The soft whispers were turning into a scream in the back of his mind. He couldn't understand why. He wasn't even in Shinigami form. Why was the interference _(IIIICHIIIII)_ getting ever stronger instead of weakening? Was he... finally losing it?

Something was off. Had been off since the day had started. He couldn't understand what.

Ichigo suddenly noticed the light sheen of sweat covering his body from under his clothes.

He was feeling strange. Almost... scared. Scared of _himself._

Yoruichi seemed to have taken his swearing as a random curse directed towards himself, and didn't reply. She sat down cross-legged next to him, with her back against the wall, grabbing a sizable jar she'd brought from somewhere. He guessed it was some sort of sake, going by the smell of alcohol.

"Well... Sucks that you're still so young, though," she smirked, with her lips already on the bottle. "You can't even drown your problems in alcohol. That's just harsh."

"Hmph. You make it sound like I'm a friggin' kid."

"Hey, if you want to play big boy for just one night, I can look away..."

"That sounds just wrong, Yoruichi-san."

The boy could tell she was trying to lift his spirits up.

It was not working at all, but he was _(ICHIGOOO)_ _(ugh)_ grateful, so he played along.

But what the _hell_ was going on with-

"Nah, it's just that you're really too _prude for a teena_ \- _(agh)_ -

\- on't try to deny it, I know you didn't... You were so flustered _just by seeing a little_ \- _(my head?)_ -

\- suke said they're gonna be ok, _he just needs to fi_ \- _(I CHI GO) -_

 _-_ lright? You _don't look too_ _\- (HEY) -_

He couldn't focus at all.

His head was beating like a drum ( _Ichigo Ichigo Ichigo Ichigo Ichigo Ichigo Ichigo)_ it didn't stop but it hurt oh it _really_ hurt

he only heard fragments of what Yoruichi was telling him because _he_ was shouting so loud it was physically hurting his ears

 _(ICHIGO)_

 **what the hell do you want now leave me alo -**

The clock on the wall marked 23:59.

The seconds hand was close to the upright number 12.

58\. 59 _._

Then everything _stopped_.

All the lights went out.

He smelled blood.

Dripping everywhere. Walls, ceiling, on the pavement, on the floor.

Red and... green?

The Moon... the Moon was so gigantic _and..._

"What the _hell...?"_

Ichigo heard Yoruichi jump up and shout from somewhere far away.

He would have liked to know that, too. He would have liked to jump up as well and go ask Urahara. Was this one other of his weird plans gone wrong?

But he found out he couldn't even stand.

His consciousness was being pulled away with a force he'd never felt before.

He could feel his skin turning inside out.

 _\- Told ya to be careful...Guess it's my time to shine. Later... Partner. -_

That was the last thing he heard before blacking out completely.

* * *

 _ **Welcome to the Velvet Room, everyone.**_

 _ **Please forgive me for the wait. I was quite busy with my thesis. I still can't believe I'll graduate come Monday. I swear I'll try to update faster after that, as soon as I get some long due sleep. First comes my other fic Plotholes, then I'll update another chapter of Danse Macabre.**_

 _ **This time around, this chapter is introduced by a gorgeous piece for strings by that huge composer that is Béla Bartók, one of my personal favorites. His music has the ability to be both vaguely disquieting and epic at times, like in this particular quartet, and almost familiar, homely at others, as in his For Children pieces or in his Romanian Folk Dances. Plus, if you are a gamer and you enjoy well-made soundtracks, I am sure you will adore him, too. I think some pieces of his would be perfect as Kingdom Hearts battle music, and I'll probably use them later on other chapters.**_

 _ **I thank each and every one of you for following, favoriting (is it even a word?), or reviewing. I also greatly appreciate the fact that you give me suggestions, because it's actually been a while since I've played the game, even if I've played it so many times in the past. The plot is mostly already laid out, but any idea is more than welcome, even funny ones. I enjoy a bit of humor.**_

 _ **Since basecannon asked, I figured I'd answer here too, just so everyone knows. I do plan to put Persona 4 characters in the plot, but only much later into the story. For now, the action will be mostly centered on Bleach. You'll have to bear with me for a while, if you want to of course.**_

 _ **To the Guest who reviewed and justly pointed out that Igor isn't, in fact, the Master of the Velvet Room: you are absolutely right. Entirely my bad. I haven't played the first two Personas in so long I just automatically viewed Igor as the owner of the room in my mind when I wrote this, even if I already had half a mind to add Philemon into the mix sooner or later. Thank you for pointing that out. I'll try to find another way to call him in future chapters, and I'll correct late ones whenever I have time.**_

 _ **To the other Guest who is apparently a Franz Liszt fan: coincidentally, the next chapter is supposed to be a Liszt piece, if I don't change my mind for the umpteenth time. His ability, especially with the piano, is simply astonishing, even if I personally prefer other composers in general. I can only imagine how hard it is to play one of his pieces. I hear they are among the most difficult to handle, on a level of skill.**_

 _ **Yet another Guest asked me whether Minako is stronger than a Shinigami or not. This chapter should have mostly answered the question. The two powers are very different, so it is wrong in my opinion to say that one is stronger than the other. It would be like comparing a sword with a crossbow and asking which does more damage. It all depends on how they are used. Physically, any Shinigami is obviously stronger than her, since she's still a normal human and she didn't have a proper training with footwork or swordplay. Sure, she fought in Tartarus, but even her Naginata skills were all self-taught after all. She couldn't magically be more skilled than someone who trained with a sword for centuries. However, her Persona ability is the strongest in all worlds, and a Persona is an incredibly strong spirit to begin with. Therefore, it is right to say that she is far stronger than a Death God as far as pure spiritual pressure goes, but she is also weaker in terms of pure strength. This is my opinion, of course.**_

 _ **Please feel free to give me suggestions for new pieces to use, or simply new composers to listen to, if you'd like. As I already said, my knowledge of classical is still a bit limited.**_

 _ **Sorry for the overly long note, but I felt I had to answer all your questions, especially in these first chapters. Of course, I can't answer anything publicly that would spoil major points of the plot. Please understand. I hope I will continue to entertain you, even a little bit. I'll see you soon.**_

 _ **Until then, farewell.**_


	4. Mephisto Waltz No1 - Intermezzo I

**I do not own any part of Bleach and Persona 3 Portable. All rights belong to Tite Kubo and to Atlus. I only own my original storyline.**

* * *

 _ **Franz Liszt, Mephisto Waltz No.1, S.514**_

* * *

 **Karakura Town, Urahara Shop**

 **September 3rd (?), 2011, ?**

* * *

Yoruichi stood petrified, speechless in front of the mad spectacle suddenly unfolding in front of her.

"What the _hell...?"_ she whispered, jumping up, the sake jar thumping down forgotten by her side on the tatami.

The placid, starlit night of Karakura Town had been plunged into a greenish darkness, stained with red blood. She could smell it in the air. Feel a taste of iron spreading on her tongue.

 _What is going on...? Is this... an illusion?! Is it Aizen? It's too soon...!_

She made a dash to the window and ripped away the flimsy curtain, to see only emptiness in the streets around her friend's shop.

There was not a single person outside, which was not particularly surprising. It was midnight, after all, and the road was a quiet one in a relatively small town. Puzzled as to why the lights had gone off so suddenly, Yoruichi hastily crossed the bedroom and tried to flick the switch on and off. No result. On and off again. Nothing.

In fact, as far as she could see, out of the open window, not a single electrical light was lit in any building, not a single lamp post in the streets was on, not one car engine roared in the distance.

 _Is this a city-wide blackout or something? No, that's stupid..._ _What blackout makes the Moon so... gigantic?_

The woman turned once again to the open window, to see the almost full celestial body glimmer ominously, enormous and pale in a deep lake of stagnant green, stale air. She stared, confused and gripped by unspeakable dread.

 _Damn you, Kisuke, if this is another one of your -..._

"Uh... _Agh -"_

Yoruichi turned brusquely towards the source of the strangled whimper, coming from a shadowed corner of the room, right next to where Orihime's futon had been laid.

Ichigo was holding his head, his hands closing on locks of short orange hair. His nails digging crescents on his palm so tightly Yoruichi could see a drop of blood oozing through his tense fingers, down his wrist, towards the floor. The former Shinigami Captain could distinctly hear the boy heave painfully from where she was standing, more or less eight feet away.

She understood immediately what was happening.

" _Ichigo!_ Are you -"

She couldn't finish her question before she was hit by a reiatsu so overwhelmingly powerful it threatened to kick her back down on the floor.

The former Onmitsukido Captain had felt his Hollow take over once before, while Ichigo was fighting Byakuya Kuchiki, but this was _different_. He had been perfectly alright just up until moments before... at least, he seemed still in control of himself. And he wasn't even in Shinigami form. But his power...

 _This... this shouldn't have happened, not so soon,_ Yoruichi thought, desperately trying to think about a possible solution on the fly.

She had no clue what was going on, why the Hollow had gotten so powerful in literally _seconds_ , but the amber-skinned woman could feel the boy struggle helplessly against the... the _something_ in his soul. And from the way he was shaking uncontrollably, with his forehead pressed on the floor, he was obviously losing the battle.

 _"Ichigo!_ Ichigo, _hey!_ Do you hear me?! You _have_ to push it back! Stay focused!" She yelled, trying to determine if the boy was still conscious behind the hands that hid his face, but not daring to approach carelessly. Unfortunately, she knew the dangers of Hollowification all too well.

The orange-haired teen didn't seem to hear her at all. He just stood there, slumped on the floor with his head in his hands.

The trembling progressively stopped, until he appeared to have calmed down completely. But he did not stand, nor move an inch.

After a minute, Yoruichi carefully got closer, peeking through his clenched fists. She saw half lidded eyes already completely black, his pupils growing lighter, from their natural chocolate brown color towards shining golden.

 _Oh, shit... Not here... Not with my injuries..._

She wouldn't last that much against him if he fully transformed, not alone and with her body still not in the best of conditions. The fight against those Arrancar in the afternoon had been much more taxing than she'd thought.

Even worse... she looked behind Ichigo, eyes narrowed. Orihime was still on her futon, unconscious. Much, _much_ closer to the boy than she was. If he went berserk and decided to attack the closest available target...

" _Kisuke!_ Are you there?!" Yoruichi screamed for help towards the door behind her. She would have gone to look for her old friend herself, but if Ichigo turned completely there was no telling what he'd do. She had to stay and protect Inoue, before he did something he'd regret for his entire life.

 _Where the hell is that idiot when you need him?!_ The woman inwardly cursed, her golden eyes darting between the sliding screen door and Ichigo's slowly changing body.

There was no Hollow mask this time, probably because the teenager was still in his human body, she speculated, but his skin was growing paler by the second and she could almost physically see his soul angrily vibrate against the restraints of his body. _He_ was trying to forcefully break out the teenager's body to gain his full form. The familiar orange hair was turning white from the strain.

The corners of Ichigo's mouth gradually tilted upwards, as if lifted by strings, while he quietly stood from the ground, stretching his muscles as if slowly accustoming to his new body, and turned his head slowly towards her.

Black sclera and golden pupils narrowed menacingly at Yoruichi's own as a crooked grin split the Hollow's candid, ghost-like, familiar face.

The woman clenched her fists and readied her body and muscles for the upcoming fight, positioning herself, ready to pounce. The monster, though, wholly ignored her provocation.

Instead,he cocked his head to look behind his shoulder... at the girl sleeping behind him. As he momentarily glanced back at Yoruichi, she saw a disturbingly amused glint in his eyes.

 _Oh, no you don't -_

The shinigami dashed toward Orihime with all the strength her damaged leg allowed her, using shunpo to flash behind... _him_ , ignoring her limb's painful signals of protest.

She barely had the time to grab the girl's body from the waist and partially hoist her on her shoulder. The woman saw a white flash dart right next to her from the corner of her eye. She yanked the long-haired girl out of the way at the last moment.

An impact crashed roughly, violently, with her left flank.

Her ribs made a clearly audible sound.

 _Creak_.

 _Crunch._

The room blurred in front of the golden-eyed fighter.

An interminable second later, Yoruichi collided harshly against the wooden sliding screen at the opposite side of the room, the force of the blow destroying it as she fell, collapsing on the other side atop the door's remains, immediately sprayed with fresh blood.

( _Drip);(Drip);(Drip)_

 _"Aagh -"_ she whimpered, coarse pain gripping her entire waist and nastily scratching at her hip as she hoisted herself up on an elbow.

Even without looking, Yoruichi _felt_ with that movement that a sizable portion of the left side of her waist was squelched into a soft, moist mass of torn skin and broken bones, ripped away from white, iron-like long fingers.

She took a downward glance to assess the damage and determined with skilled eye and a grimace that at least three of the ribs on the bottom left side of her ribcage were broken. The jarred, bloodstained outlines of their remains peeked out from the wall of red flesh left uncovered by her ripped clothes and bandages, above her hipbone, where a palm-sized ragged wound oozed blood.

The shinigami struggled to sit up, groaning, her breathing coming in raspy gasps. _Shit... Pretty sure I broke something else in the fall..._

Judging from the copious amount of blood, the tear in her flank had to have reached either the side of her stomach, or worse, her spleen.

 _Quick heartbeat, difficulty to breathe, this much blood... Yup, splenic trauma alright... Joy._ Yoruichi thought grimly and professionally, as she had long been accustomed to. She prayed her basic healing kido was not too weak and pressed a hand to her side, partially quelling the hemorrhage. She could have gone on a bit more... she hoped so, at least.

Orihime groaned lightly beside her in her medicine-induced sleep, shifting but not awakening. The amber-skinned woman had managed to take the brunt of the impact, but the force slamming against her had to have hurt the young girl in her arms as well. Fortunately, the medication's effect hadn't worn off. It would have been worse if she had been awake.

She couldn't let Ichigo injure her, even if the person before her wasn't fully him. Not with _his_ body. He'd have regretted it forever.

Yoruichi pulled herself up with a pained grunt and half stood, half crouched in front of the unconscious girl, a knee planted into the ground covered with chunks of wood for support. She felt sharp splinters pierce under the dark-tinted skin of her knee and her forehead scrunched up in annoyance. Just staying upright was almost impossible.

She was used to physical pain, but the damage to her flank was too grave and her previous injuries were still aching. There was blood everywhere. There was no way she could use shunko, nor any other strong hand-to-hand technique. Her balance was completely off, and she would have hurt herself far more than her opponent.

If things got rough, and to be honest it was obvious they already did, the former Captain would have to rely on her Kido and hope Kisuke had finally heard the commotion. Where the hell was he, in fact? How could he not feel the immense reiatsu?

She had to calm her mind down.

 _Breathe, dammit. Breathe and show it to this little Hollow shit,_ she thought as she glowered at the white-haired creature with Ichigo's appearance.

 _He_ was still in front of her, psychotic smirk untouched.

 _His_ paper white hand was stained completely red from her blood.

 _He_ raised his arm in the air, as if reaching for the sky.

The Hollow watched rivulets of dark liquid run wildly down the pure, white peak of his long limb with rapture. Yoruichi suppressed a wince as she saw him smelling it, hungrily. Like food.

 _He_ slowly, deliberately, took a lick at the blood with his black, slimy tongue. Showing off. To prove he could do whatever he wanted as long as he was in charge. To prove she would never stand a chance.

From the forearm, just above of his elbow joint... up his ulna and radius, covered by his candid flesh... up, up towards his wrist.

 _His_ tongue slowly retracted into his mouth and a row of white teeth peeked out under his stretched lips.

Yoruichi would have loved to stop him and kick that smug grin off his face, but Orihime's safety and her own damn _life_ were far more important.

She had to take the girl away, somehow, and this was the perfect time. He was distracted, caught up in his feelings of superiority.

But if she escaped from the room, he might follow her, and she would put whoever was in the house right then in danger. Kisuke could hold his ground for a while, maybe Tessai, but Ginta and Ururu...

The purple-haired shinigami couldn't wait for help forever. Things weren't looking good, at all. She could feel her strength wane and wither with each passing second. The blood had somewhat stopped, but her ruptured spleen and ribs were far from cured, and her eyesight was blurring at the corners from blood loss.

There was really no choice but to try and block that monster's advance, at least until -

Sudden

a white thunder

reaching towards her

it wanted more of her flesh

( _heheheheheheheheheheheeee)_

"Shit...!"

She tried to jump back to avoid him, but she soon realized she hadn't been fast enough. Her, the Flash Goddess. _What a way to kick the bucket,_ _Yoruichi Shihouin._

His long fingers were two inches from her throat. Curled. Predator. Craving to rip off her windpipe and ravel in her last raspy breaths as she died.

A shrill laugh. She felt hot breath on her neck -

\- blocked by a solid, crimson barrier that knocked the Hollow with Ichigo's face back on the floor.

 _Finally..._

" _Kisuke!_ Where the hell were you?! What's going on?!"

The blond shopkeeper had materialized before her in the middle of the room.

Never letting his opponent out of his sight, Kisuke Urahara held his zanpakuto horizontally in front of him, as if blocking the white demon's advance, a rare frown peeking out from under the shade of his striped hat.

 _He_ shrieked against the new obstruction to his fun.

It took the Hollow less than two seconds to shatter the barrier into countless red fragments, with a simple swipe of his hand.

Urahara already had his next move ready, though. Yoruichi heard him mutter a long incantation under his breath and point his sword tip at the Hollow.

 _"Bakudo 63, Sajou Sabaku,"_ he chanted.

A long, faintly luminous chain wrapped tightly around the monster's upper body, while he shrieked in protest, struggling fruitlessly against the binds.

Even then, Kisuke didn't lower his guard to look back towards Yoruichi, but he answered her previous question nonetheless, as soon as he was certain the Kido had taken effect.

"I'd love to know that myself, Yoruichi-san," he said in a somewhat apologetic tone. "I am ashamed to inform you that, for once, I am actually completely clueless as to whatever is going on right now. And before you ask, this wasn't my doing. I've been outside, trying to understand the situation, then I felt the abnormal reiatsu. I apologize."

"Now _that_ makes me feel a lot better..." Yoruichi let out a long, shaky sigh. "...What do we do? Any ideas?"

"... I doubt a Kido will be able to stop him for long, even with a full incantation," Urahara answered. "We have to find a way to revert him back to normal, and _fast._ His human body isn't capable of handling this kind of transformation for a prolonged time, but if we set his soul free, we're doomed, and _he_ is, too."

The shopkeeper slowly took a tentative step back from the chained figure, observing him writhe. As soon as he was almost level with Yoruichi, he looked down at her briefly with a hint of concern, never lowering the arm holding his sword at the _thing_. He looked darkly at the tear in her flank and started rummaging through his pockets.

"...Here," he fished something out from under his loose haori, presenting the dark-skinned woman with a brown flask full of pills that she shakily caught in her long fingers. "Sorry, you'll have to make do with those, for now. I had to leave Tessai with the children. How are you feeling?"

"...Not so hot. Got a good chunk off with a single hit. Spleen's done for. Thank goodness I was fast enough to somehow dodge, or he would have ripped out my stomach."

Yoruichi gulped down a capsule as she spoke, breathing in and out deeply, trying not to focus on the sharp pain. After a while, she felt a little... less bad, already. Her vision seemed steady, at the very least. She winced, though, as she tried to bend her upper body a little, and Urahara laid his free hand on her shoulder, lightly pushing her to sit down again. The flow of blood had progressively stopped altogether, but she would never get anywhere without a proper, lengthy healing.

 _Speaking of which..._ "Orihime is still recovering. I managed to absorb a good part of the impact, so she should be mostly fine. I hope that didn't strain her too much."

"Hmm," her friend mumbled approvingly, before focusing fully on _him_ again. "...How do we even stop him, if we can't shatter his mask? I didn't think he was this far gone -" Urahara stared at the Hollow with an inquiring look.

"He _wasn't,_ until now," Yoruichi interrupted him, frowning at Ichigo's orange hair, now almost completely white. "I've been checking on his reiatsu since the first time I saw his Hollow mask, back in Soul Society. It got worse after fighting Byakuya, but never even _remotely_ this bad. He never once lost control while he was still in his human body, nor showed any signs of being close to."

"... I suppose, then, that the only explanation for it is that this peculiar... _condition..._ we found ourselves in is affecting him in some twisted way." The shopkeeper gestured at the silvery Moon outside the open window as he spoke.

"Yeah..." Yoruichi sighed, herself unable to find a logical explanation for the facts unfolding before her. "What _is_ this, anyway...? It's quite elaborate, for an illusion. Did we enter another dimension without noticing?"

"...No. Everything is exactly the same as it was before. There's no sign of a Senkaimon or Garganta being opened recently, and even if there was, we couldn't have just not noticed it," Urahara looked back at her and Orihime for a second. "I sent Tessai to investigate around town with Ururu and Ginta just before I came here to help you."

 _What kind of obscure Kido is this?_ Yoruichi thought 'd never heard of anything even close to it.

"Well, let's talk about this later," she eventually retorted, eyeing the monstrous being with worry. "We have to do something about Ichigo, or -..."

 _"Indeed."_

A light-hearted female voice startled both Yoruichi and Kisuke. The two turned briskly towards the new threat, Urahara stepping in front of the injured former assassin and the unconscious teenage girl.

"...Fear not. I am not your opponent."

The same light-hearted voice greeted them once again as a figure was slowly brought to light, the muffled sound of heels on the tatami flooring drawing closer and closer.

A young woman stepped inside the faint greenish hue illuminating the room, dressed all in deep blue, with hints of black and gold on her sleeveless dress and boots. Her short bobbed hair gleamed the fairest shade of blonde, almost white in the semi-obscurity, framing a perfectly shaped face.

She advanced briskly in front of a surprised Urahara and turned towards him, her back to the still shrieking white monster with the appearance of Ichigo. The two Shinigami watched, confused, as she bowed to them in a sort of quick curtsy.

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance, lady and gentleman. My name is _Elizabeth."_

The new arrival lightly smiled, holding a heavy-looking, leather-bound brown book with both hands as the two shinigami looked at her, speechless.

"I was sent here in order to assist you in your current predicament. Please, do leave this to me." She lightly nudged her head towards the white-haired _thing_ , her bob cut hair lightly swaying around her.

"Wha - _leave this to you_?" Yoruichi asked, still confused at the sudden appearance of the stranger. "Where did you even _come_ from? How come we didn't sense your -"

"...Wait a second, Yoruichi-san." Kisuke interrupted her, straightening himself out, eyeing the woman in a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. "... Elizabeth-san, is it? You are... not a normal human, I presume?"

"I am not, just as you say. Nor I am a Shinigami, if that was to be your following question," the woman answered, imperceptibly raising an eyebrow.

"Well, then, Elizabeth-san," Urahara continued, eyes fixed on her, inquisitive, as if assessing the truth of her words. "By _assisting_ us... do you mean you know of a way to bring Ichigo back to his human form?"

"Indeed I do. My Master had warned me about the possibility of this happening," Elizabeth answered with another light smile.

"...And what would your gain be in helping us?"

Yoruichi saw Kisuke's eyes narrow. Despite his ditzy act, he was intelligent and calculative. It wasn't like him to trust people easily. Especially mysterious people who appeared without warning in the middle of complete chaos.

"Please, be reassured. As I already said, I mean the boy no harm, nor you," Elizabeth answered with a tilt of her head in Ichigo's direction. "If I had wished to attack him, I would have done so long before you two could react. Furthermore, your options are quite limited, sir. I would advise you to make your decision fast."

"..." Urahara kept looking at her for a few seconds, almost scowling. Then, after a moment of silence, he quickly glanced at the Hollow behind the beaming woman and sighed.

"... Then... please," he gestured at the monster.

"...Kisuke!" Yoruichi yelled at her friend in disbelief. "We don't even know her! How can you trust her with Ichigo?!"

"There is hardly a choice, Yoruichi-san." Kisuke firmly stated, glancing briefly at her. "I have to admit I have no idea how to get the Hollow to recede without hurting Kurosaki-kun, not when he's still in his human body. We have to gamble at this point... I'll have no choice but to trust you, Elizabeth-san," he said, stepping back and watching the fair haired woman, ready to intervene if needed.

"Why, thank you for your cooperation, good sir." Elizabeth smiled again, half bowing, and pirouetted happily but elegantly on her blue boots, stopping with a clink of her heels to face Ichigo's Hollow form.

The chains made from Urahara's Kido were indeed starting to crack, Yoruichi noticed. Honestly, she wondered how they had held on for so long, with the insanely high reiatsu coming from the Hollow. Kisuke was right. There was little time to lose.

She had expected the woman, Elizabeth, to take out a special weapon or tool of sorts, but carefully looking at her, much to her surprise, the female shinigami saw nothing of the sort anywhere on her body. _What does she have in mind? Is she a Kido-user?_

The platinum-haired girl simply lifted one of her arms, holding up the leather-bound book at chest level.

 _"Persona,"_ she said.

The book in Elizabeth's hands started to glow blue, opening by itself and shuffling the pages, as if possessed by a living being.

A faint crackling sound, like glass breaking, shattered through the room as an evanescent figure slowly took shape behind the woman, progressively gaining substance.

 _"What -..."_ Yoruichi grabbed Orihime's limp body, pulling her behind her as a fierce wind blew through the room.

She stood petrified on the floor, behind the figure appearing between Elizabeth and the monster, something impossibly huge and misshapen to be human, almost filling up the narrow space of the room with its presence.

When the figure became clearer, before the two shinigami and Orihime was a metallic man, his chiseled body gleaming silver.

There were gold-decorated joints on the huge man's knees and elbows, almost like a robot's or a marionette's. He was mostly hidden from the people present by a large set of white wings, made of hard, sharp feather-like objects, half folded on his back. The purple-haired woman could only catch a glimpse of golden, sculpted hair on the being's head and a white tunic of sorts fluttering on his body.

 _An..._ _ **angel**_ _? What the hell is this?! Where did it -_

" _Metatron..._ Um, what was the appropriate phrase in the language of humans, in such a situation, again...?" Elizabeth considered, with a flick of her gloved hand. "Ah, yes. _Kick that Hollow's butt_ with a good _Mahamaon_ spell, if you would."

The angelic figure raised both his hands at the command, as if in prayer.

A burst of light. A wide circle of white drawn under the Hollow's feet.

From the room's wooden floor, numerous talismans surged up in the air, each slowly moving in a pattern all around _it_ , whirling as if dancing in perfect synchronization until they suddenly stopped, fixed in position.

A flash of white even stronger than before blinded both Urahara and Yoruichi as they assisted in pure wonder.

A painless wave of energy hit the former Captain of the Onmitsukido, shaking her whole body to the core, before passing through her and continuing its path outward in an ever expanding circle.

For a while, she saw only white.

When the woman recovered her eyesight, minutes later, there was only Elizabeth standing in the room, looking down curiously at a figure huddled unconscious on the ground.

 _"I-Ichigo!"_

She grimaced as she limped towards the teen, holding her still damaged flank.

His skin tone was gradually going back to its original color. She could see a stain of orange slowly fill in the white of his hair. His reiatsu was also back to normal.

"Fear not. He has merely fainted. He will wake up in some time," the platinum-haired woman said, perhaps sensing her worries.

 _Thank goodness._ Yoruichi let out a long sigh of relief.

"...He certainly is young for such a powerful being," Elizabeth mumbled from above her shoulder, closing her book with a _thud_ and curiously observing Ichigo still sleeping on the floor. "... It seems to be a consolidated pattern... It undoubtedly brings back _melodies_ ," she muttered half to herself, a faint hint of sadness in her tone.

"... Uh... _Melodies?_ " Yoruichi asked, confused. _Doesn't she mean_ _ **memories**_ _?_

"... Maoris...? ... _Macaroons ...?"_ Elizabeth seemed puzzled as she raised a gloved hand towards her mouth in a pensive gesture. "...Well, something to that effect, nonetheless." She concluded, brushing off the issue with an unconcerned smile.

"Y-yeah... Ok?"

... _Why is everyone who comes to help us a freak...?_ Yoruichi sighed again to really wished she knew.

"Well, _well_ , now, Elizabeth-san. That was quite the display of power!"

Kisuke was reverting back to his usual perverted personality, too. _Here we have freak contestant number one, anyway_ , the shinigami thought, rolling her eyes. Her blond comrade hid behind his paper fan, flapping it lightly in the fair haired woman's direction as if applauding her.

Yoruichi knew him and his scientific brain far too well. _He's curious. He's going to try digging out information. Which is exactly what we need, in this crazy situation..._

"Why, I am unworthy of your praise. Might I be so bold as to formally inquire on your names, good sir and lady?" Elizabeth replied with a small, flowery gesture that was probably supposed to be an old-fashioned, ladylike bow, while her perfect smile never once faltered.

 _Damn, the lady has one hell of a poker face. This smells like trouble,_ Yoruichi mused.

"Ah, how _rude_ of me not to introduce myself to such a charming lady!" Urahara chirped, taking off his hat in a smooth motion and solemnly and almost comically bowing himself. "My name is Kisuke Urahara, Elizabeth-san. I am the proud owner of this flourishing business. Oh, and the woman behind me is my old friend Yoruichi Shihouin, while the young girl on the ground is Orihime Inoue. The boy you just helped us save is Ichigo Kurosaki. Many thanks for your invaluable help."

"I am, again, delighted to make your acquaintance, Urahara-san and Shihouin-san," the blue-clad woman bowed her head once again in apparent deference. "Please, do not thank me. It was, um... a _gale_...? No, a _breeze_. It was merely _a breeze_."

Yoruichi was still unsure whether or not they could trust the giggling woman yet, but she didn't seem to be hostile, at least. She _did_ help Ichigo, even if that could have been a ruse to gain their trust... _What could her objective be?_

Dangerous... _that,_ she surely was. She had knocked out the enraged Hollow with a single... she assumed it was a sort of spell, even if she knew no Kido remotely similar to it. She was far too powerful, whatever sort of mysterious creature she was _._

 _Honestly... this really is too confusing._

"I have heard about you and the two children from my Master already," Elizabeth steadily proceeded, breaking Yoruichi out of her own thoughts. "I shall gladly answer some of your questions, if you like, but please be brief. The Dark Hour flies."

 _"Dark Hour...?_ Is that this... weird... space we're in right now?" the former Onmitsukido Captain asked, glancing to the open window. "And who is this _Master_ of yours? How does he know us?"

"Your first assumption is correct, Shihouin-san," the fair haired woman answered without hesitation. "Only, it is not a space, but rather a _timeframe_ that corresponds exactly to an hour of your world. The Dark Hour is hidden between the very last second of the day, just before midnight, and the very first instant of a new day, immediately after it. You may consider it a twenty-fifth hour, hidden from but a few elected."

 _She completely dodged the other question..._ The female Shinigami narrowed her eyes. Before she could call out to Elizabeth, though, Urahara intervened.

"... Hoh? Interesting. And what are the conditions to be _elected_?" Kisuke asked, a slightly more serious, inquisitive undertone in his voice.

"Those who do not possess the Potential to hold a Persona cannot enter the Dark Hour, and are therefore sealed into coffins for their own protection," Elizabeth answered. "They will not remember a single thing upon their awakening, so there is no need for you to erase their melod-... _memories...?_ "

"Sealed into coffins...?"

 _...She knows about the memory change, too?_ The dark-skinned woman thought.

This Elizabeth knew far too much about shinigami procedures not to be suspicious. Who could have possibly told her all that? Was it that Master of hers? Who could have so much information on Soul Society without being a shinigami, except for the human group...?

"A _Persona_... Is that the strange power you used before?" She eventually asked. That gigantic metal angel was something Yoruichi had surely never before seen in her long life.

"Yes, it is. Though my power is a bit different from a human's."

"Could you elaborate on that _power_ , Elizabeth-san? And what would this _Potential_ you mentioned be?" Kisuke asked, peculiarly focused.

"I fear there is no time to explain every little detail," Elizabeth's golden eyes skimmed the room, as if looking for something. "...nor I have permission to do so. To give you the short version of it, a Persona is the manifestation of an individual's soul, given form through his own will and desires. It is a very ancient power, one of humankind's few weapons against the supernatural. Only a handful of people may be gifted the ability to use it."

" _Manifestation of the soul_... Something like a Kido spell, then?" Urahara inquired.

"No, not quite," Elizabeth shook her head. "What you call Demon Arts is merely a method to manipulate your _reiatsu_ , as you define it, in order to attack, cure or support. A Persona is not made of reiatsu. It is a facet of a human's soul, a being with an autonomous will. It is improper to call it a weapon."

"... Hm..." Kisuke muttered to himself, lost in thought. "Then it's not reiatsu, but _reishi_...? Hm... Say, Elizabeth-san," he asked. "If this is, as you said, an ancient power, how come the Shinigami do not know about it?"

"...Don't they?" The fair-haired woman cocked her head with a seemingly innocent look. "Are you positive of that?"

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed even further.

"...You say the Gotei Thirteen know about this power?" Urahara asked, scratching his chin. "...Strange. I have never once heard about this Persona ability, even in my years as a Shinigami Captain. I should have at least heard something."

"I am afraid this information is what you would call... Uhm... _Qualified?_ ...information?" the mysterious girl questioningly replied.

"...I believe you mean _'classified'_." Yoruichi sighed.

"Oh, yes indeed. _Classified._ What a charming word." Elizabeth nodded, as if rolling the word on her tongue. "As I was saying, anyhow, all information regarding Personas are highly... _classified_. At present, only very few people know about this power, outside of the Royal Palace."

"... Then how would _you_ know about all this?" The amber-skinned woman asked, genuinely surprised, and perhaps a little alarmed. "Who _are_ you? To have even connections with the Royal Palace -"

"My Master has recently been observing the dealings of Sousuke Aizen -" the two Shinigami looked at one another at the sound of their enemy's name coming from Elizabeth's lips, "for reasons I am at present unable to share with you, regrettably. As to my own identity... I am merely an elevator attendant," she smiled.

"...Unable to?" Yoruichi prompted.

"Indeed." Elizabeth stated, unmovable.

"...Another question, then, if you will, Elizabeth-san," Urahara intervened before the other shinigami could ask anything else. He seemed to be thinking about something, the purple-haired woman thought as she observed him quietly. "From your manner of speaking, it sounds like even this... Dark Hour has existed for a long period of time, rather than appearing just now. Why, then, is this the first time we experience it?"

"I believe I mentioned it before, but the Dark Hour only opens to those who possess the Potential to wield a Persona," Elizabeth shook her head. "Those people are but a handful. While you, as Shinigami, possess great spiritual power, you do not have the Potential, for it is a type of energy different from that you employ. Only living human souls can wield a Persona."

"Wait. If we don't have this Potential, why are we even here now?" Yoruichi asked, eyeing the green sky outside the window. "Why is everyone who has spiritual powers apparently awake?"

"Ah, I fear you strike at the very heart of the problem, Shihouin-san. That, is what you will have to determine for yourselves," Elizabeth readily answered.

"... What do you mean?"

"The Dark Hour should have been successfully and permanently sealed," the platinum blonde continued, unfaltering. "Yet, just now, it appears suddenly. Furthermore, now everyone over a certain level of spiritual power can enter it. Hm... It is undoubtedly puzzling, is it not? Exciting indeed," she giggled, like a girl with a brand-new toy.

"... That sounds eerily specific, doesn't it... I presume this was no mere coincidence, then," Kisuke mused.

"...Indeed. But, once again, I am not entitled to give you that info."

"... And why would that be?" Yoruichi asked, annoyed.

There were way too many obscure points in the matter than she would have liked. The fact that this mysterious girl seemed to be withholding information did not sit well with her.

"Patience, Shihouin-san," Elizabeth beamed a blinding smile in her direction, "As I told you, you had better look closer to you for answe-... Oh, my _goodness!"_

Elizabeth suddenly slapped her forehead in realization, completely dispelling the serious mood and causing the two startled shinigami to do a double take. "I was having such fun that I nearly forgot why I came here in the first place! Oh my, the Master will certainly scold me... _Again..."_ she sulked.

Yoruichi grudgingly decided to put the matter aside, for now. This mysterious woman, oblivious as she wanted to appear, wasn't someone who could just be forced to talk against her will.

She looked down at the still unconscious boy on the floor, instead.

"Why you came...? Is it related to Ichigo?"

"Yes, and no, Shihouin-san. What I was sent here to do is to issue a very important warning. Perhaps you should -"

"U- _Urahara-san!"_ a high-pitched voice yelled from the corridor, interrupting Elizabeth.

Yoruichi turned towards the destroyed sliding screen. Ginta's red hair peeked from the obscurity of the corridor, drawing closer. The boy was running full speed towards them, eyes wide as if chased by something terrifying.

"...Ginta? Have you found something?" Kisuke asked worriedly, approaching the boy.

"...Outside..." the child panted, breathless. "Look... _Outside..._ A _big...!"_

Urahara frowned and immediately turned towards the open window. Yoruichi followed suit.

"What the hell...?!" she muttered for the umpteenth time, that night. "What... is _that?!"_

The tall city buildings shone black in the night of the Dark Hour, outlined by the silvery-green light of the enormous Moon.

In the midst of the theater of silhouettes towering against the green sky, a foreign shadow emerged from the rooftop of a building opposite the Urahara Shoten, a sixty feet away, but clearly visible.

In the distance, it looked like a sort of tall, well-built humanlike being, clad in a robe or mantle, with a hat that split in two like a jester's and a mask-like thing concealing its face. However, there was something wrong about the... sort of shawl it was wearing around its arms. It _writhed_ , like a living being.

Looking at the monster with more attention, Yoruichi noticed that it was not a shawl the creature was clad in, but a huge pair of... _hands?..._ sprouting from somewhere on its back and enveloping it, as if protecting it in a cocoon.

The being looked to be at least eight to ten feet tall in the distance, and it was waiting for something. Never moving a step, only the digits around it contracting and wiggling in its stead.

"What is -... a _Menos Grande_?" Kisuke whispered, surprised. "Impossible... It's too small, it can't be a simple Gillian... How come we can't feel its reiatsu?"

"That, Urahara-san, would be the subject of my warning," Elizabeth intervened, making the two Shinigami turn towards the sound of her voice.

"That is no Hollow, I am afraid. That being is called a _Shadow."_

* * *

 **Karakura Town, Urahara Shop**

 **September 4th , 2011, 00:12**

* * *

"...So?" Yoruichi addressed her blond friend, alone with her in front of the shop after the frenzy of the Dark Hour had died down.

"Hm?" Kisuke just hummed questioningly in response, eyes fixed on the Moon.

"You know what I'm talking about. Penny for your thoughts?" she asked, approaching him, still wobbling a little. "...It's not like you not to pursue a prey when you've sniffed it. Why didn't you force her to tell us everything? I know how much of a smooth manipulator you can be."

"Hah... You've seen her power for yourself, haven't you?" Urahara smirked ruefully at her. "I highly doubt I'd have been able to force her to do _anything_. Looks like she knows a great deal more about us than we about her. Besides, I wouldn't trick a woman. I am a gentleman, after all." He winked at her playfully.

"Yeah, right. I'm serious, Kisuke..." the golden-eyed Shinigami crossed her arms in front of her chest, staring intently at him. "...The timing for all this couldn't be worse. What should we do?"

"..." he reflected for a couple of seconds further, eyes fixed on the celestial body that had shrunk to its normal size. He turned and looked at Yoruichi, after a while.

"That... Shadow being..." he started slowly, as if gathering his thoughts as he spoke. "This _Dark Hour_ ended before I could examine it closely, but... It's highly troubling. Not only we can't sense its presence, we have no information on it whatsoever. I have _nothing_. I've never seen anything like it in my life. And as you said, it came in the worst possible moment for us. We're lucky it only seems to appear during this timeframe."

He was right. Not only they had to deal with Arrancar, now they had this big question mark thrown on an already far too crowded chessboard.

Elizabeth had made it quite clear that Shadows were hostile to mankind, but as long as people stayed in their coffins, no one would get hurt, right? Well, besides the people awake... In other words, _them._

"Did she give you any more info on these Shadow beings?" Yoruichi asked.

"...No, nothing detailed. According to her, we have to find out for ourselves," Urahara sighed, removing his hat and running a hand through his hair. "...But I have a lead, at least."

"A lead?"

"There are people who know about shinigami in this world, but none to the point of being aware of the Soul King's presence. If she knows about him, Soul Society _has_ to know something about her and this Persona power. Her knowledge on us is frighteningly detailed. Plus, she said it herself, no?" Urahara said, eyes always fixed on the now familiar dark blue night. " _You had better look closer to you for answers_. No matter how you look at it, it's weird for Soul Society not to know anything about these monsters, especially when they're this powerful. If not even a Captain like me knew, the only one who does is the Captain Commander himself."

"You want to ask Yamamoto directly...?" Yoruichi frowned. "It's a risk, Kisuke. You know it better than I do. You're still a fugitive. If you contact him, you'll reveal our position."

"If my original hypothesis is right, he won't have a choice but to accept a negotiation," the other shinigami replied. "We're the only ones who know about Aizen's plans in detail, besides Hirako and his group, and I'm sure Yamamoto knows about me by now. I'm the only one who knows how to open a Garganta. Exchanges of information are only logical between allies in times of war."

"Do you really think he'll tell you everything? You know how Soul Society deals with _'classified'_ info."

"With the Central 46 gone, it'll be easier, at least." Urahara turned at those words, walking calmly towards to the door leading to the interior of the shop.

"...What are we going to do in the immediate future, then?" Yoruichi stopped him, not moving to follow.

"Kurosaki-kun will wake up soon. I'd ask you to explain the general facts to him and Inoue-san, for now, Yoruichi-san. Take it easy and let Tessai heal you. I'll be in the laboratory downstairs," the blond ex-Captain answered, looking back towards her.

"So you _do_ have an idea, then?" the woman asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Not quite, but... Based on what little information I _did_ uncover from our talk with Elizabeth-san, I'm going to check on any unexplained incidents in the last few years. Here's hoping something will turn up," he replied, sighing, not quite confident. "If what she said is true, we'll have to explore the city tomorrow night, but with you in that condition, I'll have to ask someone else for help... and convincing them will be a _huge_ pain."

"...Hirako?" she smirked with a knowing look. "You're right. It _will_ be a pain. Well, sucks to be you, Kisuke... I'd help you, but I'm _hurt_ , you know."

"...You're still angry because I wasn't fast enough to help you, aren't you, Yoruichi-san...?" Urahara timidly asked, almost sheepish.

"...Maybe. Now scram, you bookworm. I know you've been itching to dig up obscure dusty documents all this time. I'll go check on Ichigo and Orihime in a second," the purple-haired woman smiled mischievously.

Kisuke played frightened, but smirked as well, nodding at her and swiftly disappearing inside the door.

Yoruichi leaned against the wall, watching her longtime friend enter the shop.

She remained outside for a few moments, breathing the chilly night air in and out.

 _"Hah..."_ she sighed once again. "I guess it's true that when it rains, it _pours_."

* * *

 _ **Intermezzo I**_

 _ **?**_

 _ **?**_

* * *

Atop a high, pristine white tower, the imposing grey gate towered in the sky, reflecting darkness on the blank canvas of its surroundings.

Behind the black chains holding it shut, a narrow gap separated the two sides of the door.

A thin, shadowy hand peeked out from the gap, holding a mask with the numeral 'I' in its grip and moving it about, as if scrutinizing its surroundings through its empty sockets.

Black fingers of mist-like substance held onto the door, reaching out to the light outside.

Hand and mask slowly dissolved in thick, dark smoke.

Its volutes swirled in the air of Hueco Mundo and through the black Chains, dispersing in the air, traveling in the sky to reach another dimension.

* * *

 _ **Welcome to the Velvet Room, everyone.**_

 _ **With graduation finally out of the way I can finally focus on my fan fiction for a while. As promised, here we have a chapter introduced by a disquieting piano piece by Franz Liszt. Since we're dealing with Ichigo's hollow, I think a devil's waltz is appropriate, isn't it? Waltzes work so perfectly with battle scenes.**_

 _ **Now then, I must thank each and every one of you who took the time to follow or favorite, and reply to all of your reviews that I haven't personally answered already. I'd love to write to everyone personally, but since many are guests, I cannot do that, plus I've been a bit busy lately.**_

 _ **Therefore, I apologize if the Author's Notes will turn out to be a bit lengthy from this chapter on out. I'll dedicate them to answering reviewers. If you are someone who doesn't like being spoiled even the smallest detail, I suggest you just skip this note altogether. I'm not going to answer anything that might be a direct spoiler, but I'll try to remove any doubts.**_

 _ **First of all, a necessary clarification. What Aizen said in the last chapter about Minako's powers is largely based on his own opinion and pride, as many of you guessed. He sees her as weak because he knows next to nothing about Personas, and because he thinks he's a God. What I meant in my previous note was that even if Minako, as a human, should be weaker than a shinigami, her powers make her effectively as strong, and very likely much stronger than anyone, as many of you wrote in your reviews. Perhaps I didn't explain myself well. I apologize. I think it's great that Minako (or whatever name you choose for her, I just like Minako best out of all non-canon names) is so loved by Persona 3 fans, though.**_

 _ **To answer basecannon (thank you very much for the congratulations!), Hollow Ichigo is already pretty much a psycho, since he's trying to overthrow Ichigo, but he warned him for a reason. Basically, he's a smug showoff that loves to fight and destroy, though.**_

 _ **I'm not going to use Zen from PQ in the story, because I consider him as a sort of "non-canon" character. Only Minato (Male Protagonist) met him, in his universe, so I'm not going to insert him in the storyline. Sorry if it's a disappointment to you. And to answer a Guest, no, Minato won't be in this either as you guessed.**_

 _ **I already answered crazie194, but I'm rewriting part of my answer here for everyone else too. As you said, the one originally supposed to be behind the Great Seal is Nyx, not Erebus, but I willingly switched the two in the story, for reasons we'll see in later chapters.**_

 _ **To an anonymous Guest: the powers of normal Persona users vary depending on their level, but as I've already said Minako has far more power than your average Soul Reaper, and I'd place her even way above Captain level. Her friends are weaker, but no pushovers either. We'll see how a possible fight turns out in the future.**_

 _ **You can guess where in the Persona timeline this story takes place from the dates at the beginning of each chapter: we're more than a year after Graduation Day where Minako was supposed to "die" (described in the very first chapter), and in the meantime the Persona 4 events are already unfolding. To be precise, Yu's group should now (as of September 3, 2011) be preparing for their field trip to Gekkoukan, if I'm not mistaken.**_

 _ **The characters you listed are going to appear eventually, if I don't change my mind, but I'm not sure yet if Ichigo will meet Persona 4 characters personally. That part of the story is still "in development" in my head, I guess.**_

 _ **Last but not least, Shinjiro is going to appear as a human, since in Persona 3 Portable his death is eventually averted by Minako maxing his Social Link. As for the other Social Links, I can't really tell you in detail, but I'll say that Soul Society's meddling with the Great Seal has had consequences on those you'll discover soon. I'm going to assume in this fic that Minako had at least her dorm mates' SL all maxed before her "death".**_

 _ **Next, onto answering makaxcrona (I love both Maka and Chrona too, anyway, if you mean those from Soul Eater). I've already explained the whole power thing between Minako and shinigami before, hope it's a bit clearer now. As for P4 characters, I have to admit I largely prefer P3 as well, but I can't avoid mixing the two casts in this story due to the plot I have in mind. They are going to be there, but don't worry. The focus will mainly be on P3 and Minako anyway.**_

 _ **To answer your other question, no, I have no plans to make this an Ichigo x Minako fic whatsoever. I'll say this now so no one will be disappointed, but this isn't strictly a romance story. I do plan for a pairing eventually, and sure there will be moments, but you'll likely have to wait a good while.**_

 _ **It should go without saying that there's no explicit lemon planned, as the rating should have told you. Just wanted to get it out of the way in the very beginning, if anyone had doubts. I just don't do those. There are plenty of far more capable people who can write them on this site.**_

 _ **Many of you should have guessed the main pairing from the first chapter... or not? We'll see.**_

 _ **To gatekeeper: as you said, Aizen himself somewhat understands that he can't face Minako directly, so he's trying to find a way to trick her into giving him her power to destroy the Seal. I agree that she might, if he brought her friends into this.**_

 _ **Thanks again for all the priceless input. Your reviews always give me new ideas. I hope I answered everyone, but if I forgot something, feel free to remind me. If you really want detailed spoilers, I can answer, but only privately.**_

 _ **I sincerely hope you'll continue to enjoy this fic. I'll see you next chapter.**_

 _ **Until then, farewell.**_


	5. Fruit of Insanity - Intermezzo II

**I do not own any part of Bleach and Persona 3 Portable. All rights belong to Tite Kubo and to Atlus. I only own my original storyline and characters.**

* * *

 _ **Mao Hamamoto, Johnny Kawahata, Tomoyuki Hamada - Corpse Party Blood Drive OST - Fruit of Insanity**_

* * *

 **Soul Society, Seireitei, Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Observation Room 2**

 **September 3rd (?), 2011, Dark Hour**

* * *

"Akon-san! T-this reiatsu detector doesn't work either!"

The scream went lost under countless others in a cacophony of noises.

A bustling crowd of dozens of white-coated shinigami buzzed in the spacious Observation Room, like bees circling around their nest, people running to and fro all around the circular space, some pounding on a machine's buttons in frustration.

"Shit..." The Twelfth Division's Third Seat, Akon, bitterly cursed as he ran across the room filled with computers and equipment, almost shoving panicking people out of his way in the rush. "You _have_ to be kidding me..."

Just minutes prior, every scientist was focused on running his or her assigned tasks, analyzing reiatsu in the human world or in Soul Society or comparing data from previous experiments. _Just a night like any other in the R &D Institute_, or so the Third Seat had thought, supervising work with more than one bored yawn. The events of that afternoon, when two Arrancars had appeared in the Human World, had required quite a lot of attention. Tired from the latest weeks' overtimes, he had no idea at all that the peaceful atmosphere of the night shift was about to be so abruptly shattered.

Without the slightest warning, every single machine, every light, had turned off. Simultaneously. The room and its inhabitants found themselves immersed in a sort of wavering, green and red darkness, without even having the time to take a deep breath.

It wasn't that the computers were simply _off_ , as Akon soon found out , but rather as if the entire electrical supply of the building, governed by a special reishi converter, had completely died out.

That was bad. _Monstrously_ bad. Especially with the threat of a war hanging low on their necks. It was only logical to think of the occurrence as a sort of preemptive strike from the enemy, and the panic ensued was not helping matters. Not to mention the huge amount of data likely lost in the blackout.

 _Dammit... If their objective was to confuse us, they've done a pretty good job_ , Akon grimly considered as he frowned at his coworkers' utter frustration and mild terror. Sighing, he chose to leave his hypothesizing for a later time. Now was the time to get a hold on the situation. Shouting loudly, until most of the shinigami stopped to listen, the raven-haired scientist spoke to his peers.

 _"_ Everybody calm down!This is no time for anything working in Room 1 and 3?!" He snapped at no one in particular. "What about the lower floors? The Twelfth Division labs?"

"N-no, sir! No electrical equipment seems to be in function, anywhere! Not even the machines equipped with stand-alone generators!" One of his subordinates answered him with a trembling voice, almost pleading for help. "I can't even get the communication links working, and I can't find my hell butterfly... W-what should we do, Akon-san?!"

Everyone in the R&D Institute knew what it meant to have such a huge power shortage. There was literally _nothing_ they could do. It was unprecedented not to even have at least partial backup from the generators.

A vast organization like the Gotei Thirteen had to largely rely on electricity and machines, provided almost exclusively from the Twelfth Division and the Institute, to keep its branches properly coordinated. Detecting the enemy in advance from afar was a simple, but very crucial task: a large scale invasion right in that moment could have easily been _fatal_. No Tenteikura was so powerful as to allow communications between thousands of shinigami throughout all of Soul Society simultaneously, and without info, they were as good as a bunch of clueless moths unknowingly drawn to the flames. Busting both communication and reconnaissance meant completely disrupting their pace.

 _Damn it... What the hell am I even supposed to do in this situation?!_ The seated officer's usually calm demeanor strained under the pressure. He took a deep breath and set his brain to work, trying to determine a possible point of origin for the malfunction, isolating himself from the noise around him.

Quite a task, since Akon had not the faintest idea what the problem was in the first place.

 _Could it be an experiment gone wrong?_ he thought, nervously rubbing his temples with lithe fingers. _No... There were no experiments scheduled at this hour, well, besides the Captain's- Could it be him...? How long has he been in the basement... Dammit, what time is it?_

Akon scowled, his narrowed eyes glaring at the immobile hands of the clock lodged in the wall above the entrance door. Under the smooth, dark glass, three thin black metal sticks were all stuck at just a hair's breadth from the uppermost number, the 12. The unmoving seconds hand silently told the shinigami that the clock wasn't working. _Strange. Isn't it battery-powered? What blackout affects a battery...?_

... _No time for that. These guys are going to go nuts if I don't do something quick,_ he thought, observing the crowd of shinigami stare at him expectantly, still waiting for his orders.

"Send someone to the Captain, immediately!" He turned and barked at his panicked colleagues, trying to somehow organize a response. "All of you, try every test you can think of to find out why the equipment isn't working. He'll want a detailed report on the state of every machine when he-"

"It is unnecessary, Akon," he heard a familiar, snarling voice, approaching from behind him, roughly cutting through his speech.

The times Akon had been genuinely _happy_ to hear that voice were so few he could easily count them on the fingers of one hand. Yet, the Third Seat let out a sigh of relief at the sight of his Captain's angry scowl.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi's black and white face and gritted teeth appeared, ghostlike and frightening, from the laboratory door, distorted into a grimace. His wide open eyes darted left at right like a grasshopper, glancing with nothing but pure annoyance at the confusion in his Institute. He passed by his Third Seat without sparing him a glance and approached the center of the room with long and nervous strides.

It was painfully obvious, from the murderous look in his eyes, that he had been interrupted right in the middle of one of his experiments or researches, therefore storming all the way up to the Observation Room, from whatever dark hole he had isolated himself into, to assess the situation. The black, rigid figure of Lieutenant Nemu trotting expressionlessly behind him like his shadow, he silenced the chaos with a loud shriek of _"Silence!"_ that startled every single researcher, creating for the first time in a long while a much needed, but somewhat unsettling, quiet.

"What is the meaning of _this?"_ he snarled in Akon's general direction, without bothering to look at him. _He's really pissed at having been interrupted... Must have been an important experiment,_ the Third Seat had the time to fleetingly consider."Why is all of the equipment unusable?! _Who_ is responsible?!"

"...We have no idea either, Captain." The Third Seat answered calmly, in an attempt to pacify Kurotsuchi. _Actually, my best bet was that it was your fault,_ was the part of his thought he wisely elected not to express. He had no wish to be used as a test subject for stress-relief himself, and sadly, he wouldn't put it past his Captain to actually do so, Third Seat or not. "We were looking for abnormal reiatsu in Rukongai and the Karakura Town area, as instructed. Everything was functioning perfectly for the entirety of the day, until around midnight all our monitors and machines just... _crashed_. All at once," he continued.

 _"Huff..._ Not... just in here, Captain...-" the small figure of Rin Tsubokura appeared from the doorway, the topknot-wearing scrawny shinigami catching his breath and leaning a hand on the doorframe for support. "I-... I just went to check on all the other labs, and... it seems all kinds of machines are off... a-and there isn't a single light around, _anywhere_ in Seireitei..."

The crowd of scientists buzzed and murmured again at the information, each small group discussing a different theory, one more gruesome than the other.

"A full blackout...? _Preposterous..._ Could it be an irregularity in the reishi- no, that would have most likely caused an explosion..." Captain Kurotsuchi mumbled to himself and gritted his teeth menacingly, his fingers contracting in frustration.

"If I may, Mayuri-sama."

Nemu's perfectly level voice cleanly vibrated over the whispering, monotonous and flat.

"What is it, Nemu?" the Twelfth Division Captain snappily asked, perhaps a little taken aback by his daughter and Lieutenant's unusual assertiveness. Akon, himself, hadn't seen her spontaneously initiate a conversation without being prompted to in what felt like years.

The young woman had moved while the researchers were busying themselves in their respective theories, Akon realized as he turned towards her. She was currently standing just next to one of the thick black screens obscuring the few windows of the dark room. The young woman grabbed the edge of it with one hand, and slowly but firmly pulled it to the side.

"What... the-"

The Third Seat couldn't believe what he was seeing. He hastily walked towards another screen, to the left of Nemu, almost ripping it off the window in the rush as he glanced outside.

The previously midnight black sky of Seireitei was now a depthless pool of stagnant green, mirroring the same sickly shade of the obscure Laboratory. The white city had been completely dyed an ominous color, its pavement of soil stained with a dark red, faintly glowing aura.

The Moon shined gigantic, enormous and nearing fullness, in that waterless pond.

"What in the world is this...?!" Not even Captain Kurotsuchi seemed to understand what was going on. And that was more than worrisome in itself. His somewhat twisted character aside, Mayuri Kurotsuchi was one of the most knowledgeable people in Seireitei. The fact that even he was so surprised only served to fuel the raven-haired Third Seat's worst thoughts.

"C-captain!" Another member of the Twelfth Division stormed into the room, not bothering to catch his breath and knocking helplessly against other fellow shinigami in his way. "T-the _hell butterflies_ , they're... w-we can't find them anywhere!"

"What does it mean you _can't find them?!_ Are you telling me all of our communication routes have been cut off...?! _Tch..._ Could this be some sort of attack... _Nemu!"_ Kurotsuchi screeched at the female Lieutenant in his shrill, echoing tone. "Send someone to the Captain Commander immediately! We are on maximum alert until the situation is assessed! Issue a color red threat warning until further instructed!"

"Yes, Mayuri-sama," Nemu bowed in response and walked to a nearby member without another word.

"Akon. Call here everyone in the Division who is skilled at sensing reiatsu," the Captain addressed the Third Seat directly, serious as he'd never seen him before. Akon sensed a note of familiar, almost morbid curiosity under that mask. "Without the sensors, we have no way to prepare ourselves against an attack. We will have to make do until we -"

The Twelfth Division Captain had yet to finish the sentence when hundreds of monitors turned back on at the same time with a noisy, electric _zap_ sound, accompanied by the intermittent flicking of the lights, that stabilized after a couple of seconds.

The familiar buzzing of electronics hummed throughout the halls, while the shinigami whipped their heads around the room in confusion.

Recovered from the initial surprise, Akon took a tentative glance outside the open window. The sky had returned to its customary midnight black once more, as well.

"It's over...?" he mumbled to himself, his mind still on a loop. _But... why? We haven't done anything to solve the problem... Could it have been someone in the other Divisions?_

"...This is no time for you to relax, you _simpletons!_ Operate the detectors at once!" The Captain's shrill voice broke the already fragile stasis like a rock thrown on a glass window. "Scan for Arrancar or Hollow signatures, _now!"_

All the scientists scuttled back to their positions like scared bugs, some running to their respective seats before the now lit rows of screens, some rushing to the humming machines in the back.

Akon just observed them from the middle of the room, waiting. He absentmindedly stared at the clock above the entrance door. _It's moving again... Did the battery restart by itself?_

"Captain Kurotsuchi, sir-" Hiyosu raised his large green hand after a couple of minutes of focused and uncomfortable silence.

"What did you find? Show me the coordinates!"

"N-no, sir, the fact is... there is no abnormal reiatsu, anywhere in Soul Society or in the Human World at present. Nor any unusual Hollow signature..."

"There is no enemy...?"

Akon was now utterly confused.

"Negative, Akon-san..." another researcher shook his head. "However... I have identified an abnormality in the reishi composition of the atmosphere. It is difficult to analyze, though, since it's disappearing really fast and we couldn't record it... I can only assume that whatever it is, it is the cause of the green sky phenomenon."

"A technique able to manipulate reishi directly, and on such a large scale... Whoever is responsible for this, he is no ordinary enemy. Collect all the data you can!" The Captain barked his orders once more, throwing the last sentence at his keyboard-tapping subordinates. "I want a detailed analysis! _Move_ , you morons, before the anomaly completely disappears!"

"Captain! I have a report as well!" Yet another scientist raised his hand from a different corner of the room. "I am receiving various inquiries from shinigami on patrol all over the human world that observed the same phenomenon we have just experienced...!"

"The human world as well...? What kind of power could possibly-" Akon considered, approaching the scientist to help him coordinate the communication links.

In that very moment, a dark hell butterfly fluttered softly into the room, circling around Kurotsuchi's imposing figure as if requiring attention. "They've returned... I suppose everything has reverted back to its original state," the face-painted shinigami said as he raised a long, bluish fingernail towards the critter and brought it towards his ear, listening to the message in silence.

"Akon," the Captain called to his Third Seat as soon as he was done listening, speaking in curt and truncated phrases, full of impatience. "Keep scanning the area for anomalies. The alert is still to be kept at maximum level until I or the Commander order otherwise. I want a full report on any data you can recover from that unusual condition by my return. Contact all the shinigami currently in the human world and collect their statements. I am going to an emergency Captains' Meeting. I leave the lab to you in the meantime. Nemu, you handle the barracks and the Division's main building. Question everyone who witnessed anything peculiar. And both of you make it _crystal_ clear I will not tolerate panic in my Division."

"...Understood," Akon answered, while Lieutenant Kurotsuchi mirrored him with a silent nod, observing her Captain and father disappear from the Observation Room.

* * *

 **Soul Society, Southern Rukongai, District 6, Forest Area**

 **September 3rd (?), 2011, Dark Hour**

* * *

"Where should they be, Honda?" he asked the man dashing in front of him.

"We're almost there, Captain Hitsugaya."

The white-haired shinigami hummed in acknowledgement at his subordinate, impatiently fastening his pace. A small group of his Tenth Division's members followed suit, rushing to keep up with his speed.

As he flashed forward through the patch of trees, with no time to spare to stop and admire their leaves glistening under the moonlight, he glanced upwards with unease, above the tall dome of greenery, to the sinister sky above him.

Dark green greeted his azure eyes, instead of the customary deep blue. There were no stars in the enormous, cloudy swamp that had just minutes prior invaded the peaceful night. He had been leading a small group of his Tenth Division in a patrol in South Rukongai, where some Hollows had reportedly been sighted, when the present... _incident_ had caught them unawares.

 _What could this be?_ He mulled over in his head as he proceeded through the forest, absentmindedly following his subordinate in the midst of the ever identical trees. _Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is Aizen, but... Is this a follow-up to the attack in the Human World this evening? I can't sense any enemy-_

 _-Ah, damn it... This can't be good. We're just getting swept up in that bastard's pace with no chance to counterattack._

Toshiro clenched his fists at the thought.

There were no words to describe the rage he felt at the thought of _him_ , a whirlwind, deep in his stomach, that consumed all the memories of the Sousuke Aizen he had known to spit them out screaming and bathed in red. Times when he had, clueless, asked for guidance; when he had casually drank tea with him on the front porch of his office, discussing the state of their respective Divisions; a memory of one night on the rooftop, celebrating a birthday he didn't even remember, _thanking_ him for his words. He instantly saw red. Everything was red-

 _-just like all the blood on her body._

Toshiro let out a shaky sigh as he briefly ran a hand over his eyes and forehead. _Not now. Don't think about that. You have people to lead... Too many responsibilities to shoulder to be thinking about revenge._

"The other group should be in that patch over there, Captain," his subordinate, Honda, providentially interrupted the stormy flow of his thoughts. When he looked at the older male, the white-haired shinigami Captain saw him gesturing at what seemed to be a spot free of trees, a few steps deeper in the small forest they had been traversing.

"...Good." Toshiro nodded. Indeed, now that he had the chance to focus properly, he could feel six familiar reiatsu signatures just ahead of him. He stopped and walked forward with his normal pace through the last, thin-trunked trees that surrounded the clearing like a fence.

The crunching noise of dry leaves crumbling under sandals soon left room to almost inaudible steps shuffling on soft earth.

The child Captain carefully examined his new surroundings, craning his head around in every direction.

The site was a circular patch of grassless ground, 40 feet in diameter, likely manmade, probably meant to be a sort of camping spot. In fact, he could see simple wooden benches all around the edge of the round clearing and a small pile of dead branches, stacked in front of one of them, surrounded by... _what?_

"Are those-...?" he muttered, after nodding in acknowledgement to the Tenth Division members on the scene and spotting his Lieutenant giving directions among the group farther ahead, with her back to him. He knew she had noticed his presence: he didn't bother calling her and left her to her talk, directing his full attention to the strange sight in front of him first.

"Um, Captain-" a woman, her name was Saionji, if he remembered correctly, made to answer his half-formulated question, standing at attention with a rigid start. "We were patrolling with Lieutenant Matsumoto when... _this_ -" she warily lifted her eyes to the sky, "happened. I grew up in this district, so I proposed this clearing as a rendezvous point, but... When we arrived, those _things_ were already there."

Toshiro followed the path of his confused subordinate's gaze and observed the cause of her disorientation.

A number of dark objects, tall and narrow, populated the barren space, scattered about without a pattern all around the dark, dully red-hued ground. He counted nine of them, three grouped near the small pile of branches in front of a bench, two next to another one, and the four remaining others dispersed in the central area.

Black and gleaming, likely made of metal, the monoliths were all identical, a trapezoidal shape on top that joined at the lower base with another mirrored trapeze, far taller, with its narrower base planted on the ground. Circling around one with measured steps, the white-haired Captain cautiously laid a palm on an isolated black object's surface, the typical coldness of a metallic surface immediately seeping into his hand as if refusing his touch. He roughly estimated the objects to be at least six feet tall and a couple thick.

Knocking on its surface with his knuckles produced a hollow, metallic, tingling sound. _Could they contain something?_ Toshiro mused, lightly pushing with his hand on the black monolith to gauge its weight. The object didn't give even an inch. In fact, it didn't even shift. It felt like pushing against a solid concrete wall.

"Captain," he heard a familiar female voice address him, in an almost jovial tone that bore a stark contrast to his pensive mood.

Rangiku Matsumoto's busty figure stood just behind him, her almost orange hair glistening with a greenish tint under the sky. She smirked at her Captain, before following his gaze back to the black monolith. "I've been waiting for your group. We came across these babies just a couple minutes ago, so I sent Honda to get you right away."

"Matsumoto," Toshiro nodded in greeting, stepping to the side to allow her to come closer and knocking again on the object with his knuckles, the same tingling tune answering the beat he played with his hand. "What do you think of those?"

"No matter how you look at them, they're clearly _coffins_ ," the woman answered, scrunching up her nose in either annoyance or disgust. "Though why would a bunch of coffins appear in Rukongai, out of all places, I have no idea. This type of casket isn't even common in Soul Society... Most of the people who live in these areas have never seen one made like this before, I bet." She imitated her Captain's gesture at these words, tapping against the black surface with the back of her fingers.

"Well, soul bodies are usually cremated rather than buried in coffins around here, except for nobles," Toshiro acknowledged. "...What is their purpose then? Who would leave coffins lying around like this, and for what reason? Why here in Rukongai, for that matter?"

"Well, I've certainly never seen coffins sprout from the ground upright like trees, not even in my worst nightmares-" Matsumoto rubbed the back of her neck, observing her surroundings with wary eyes. After a while, her gaze trailed upwards, over the top of the forest's roof of leaves and branches circling the clearing. "-Then again, I've never seen a green sky either," she whispered thoughtfully.

Toshiro's eyes ran once more along the smooth surface of the casket. His dulled, blurry reflection looked even more tired as he had imagined himself to be.

 _Dammit... Too many things happening at once and not a clue on what to do. This just doesn't make any sense._

"I guess we could find something out if we tried opening one, but I don't see any way to do so," he prompted. "Any luck with that?"

"We've tried, Captain," another male shinigami in Matsumoto's group, a new recruit named Wakamatsu, if he wasn't mistaken, reported with a dejected sigh. "We couldn't even budge them, never mind topple them. Plus, those things are locked tight. There's no latch nor mechanism we could find, either."

"We also tried forcing one open," Matsumoto added to the explanation, "since it looks like there's a lid that should come off. There's a split in the middle that runs all around the perimeter on the side. Well, no luck on that, too. Either those things are glued together with the strongest substance I've ever encountered, or there's some sort of Kido that prevents us from opening them. Either way, I told everyone not to try using their zanpakuto until you arrived."

"That's probably for the best. I'd rather have one of these examined before trying to destroy it," Toshiro agreed, running a finger along the narrow gap that Matsumoto had just indicated. It looked too thin to even jam a sword or an object in to use as a lever. They probably would have to break the casket altogether to examine its contents. "Did you manage to contact the Twelfth?"

"That's gonna be difficult," the buxom woman sighed. "No one has seen a single hell butterfly, and a Tenteikuura doesn't allow the receiver to respond immediately. The people who have other communicator devices all claim they're not working. Guess we'll have to try the Kido anyway. I hope we're not too far..."

"No harm in trying," the young Captain answered. They had to at least communicate their location, somehow. "You're the most skilled in Kido in our Division, Matsumoto, so I'll leave that to you. Contact either the Captain or Lieutenant Kurotsuchi with the Tenteikuura and wait for their answer."

"...What's this?" Matsumoto blinked and smiled, an almost mischievous glint in her light blue eyes. "Was that a _compliment_ I heard from you, Captain? Aren't I the _greatest_ Lieutenant you could possibly ask for, _hm?"_

"...It was only the truth, and you know it, Matsumoto. Though I suppose if only your motivation in doing office work was as good as your Kido skills, perhaps you _would_ be," Toshiro replied sarcastically.

Matsumoto frowned in mock offense and grunted, whipping around and stomping off as she set to work on the Tenteikuura incantation. "...-so _mean_ ," Toshiro heard her mutter to herself, observing her concentrate her reiatsu for the spell.

The Captain sighed at his Lieutenant's familiar antics, listening to her voice pronouncing the incantation as he stood still in front of the coffin, once again observing his own reflection on the polished black surface.

 _What's going on?_ He frowned, trying to collect his thoughts, mirrored by his reflection. _First the Arrancars' attack this afternoon and now this... The patterns are far too different. One a direct confrontation, the other an attack on our communications. It's as if they were staged by different culprits..._

 _Are the two events really connected? Of course Aizen is behind the Hollows, but this... Confusing the enemy is a valid tactic, but I'd thought it was too soon for him to act on such a large scale. Wouldn't it have made more sense for this attack to precede the Arrancars'?_

 _No good... Something's still escaping us._

Matsumoto's voice had died out by the time he shook himself awake from the focused flow of his thoughts.

No matter how attentively Toshiro listened, not a single noise disturbed the silence of the clearing's surroundings, save for the occasional talking and pacing around of his own subordinates.

Not a leaf falling, not a bird howling.

Normally, he would have welcomed a quiet night such as this. But at that moment, the eerie atmosphere was doing nothing but unsettling him.

In fact... wasn't it _too_ quiet?

"...Saionji, right?" he asked the girl who had spoken at the beginning for confirmation.

"A-ah, yes, Captain," the recruit nervously answered, jerking again to attention. She had been recently promoted, if he recalled correctly. It had to be the first time she went to a patrol with him in person.

"You mentioned before that you grew up around here, right?" he asked again.

The woman nodded. "Yes, Captain. I arrived here by myself when I was young, and I've never left the District until a few years ago, when I entered the Academy."

"How far is the nearest village from this area?"

"Um..." Saionji seemed to be lost in thought for a second before replying. "I'm pretty sure Aomori Village is quite close to here, actually, right out of this forest. I've lived there for a while. It shouldn't even be a two minutes' walk to the west."

"...Well then," Toshiro considered, almost talking to himself. "If there's a village so close nearby, how come we have yet to see a single resident? Has any of you met someone?"

All of the Tenth Division members around him quietly shook their heads in denial.

"N-now that you mention it, Captain... It _is_ strange..." Saionji timidly replied. "We didn't meet a single villager while moving about ever since the sky went green-"

"Wouldn't everyone steer clear of the forest area after dark?" the young man named Wakamatsu shrugged. "It's not safe to wander about at midnight in Rukongai. They should all be in town sleeping."

"Well, this is a pretty safe District, after all, and we're not far from the village..." the woman answered back. "It's not that strange for people to walk in the forest, here. Plus, this area is famous as a spot for stargazing or eating outside... I remember it being pretty crowded, even after dark."

"Hm..." Toshiro grumbled.

His eyes scanned the area, observing the clearing in search for clues.

The young Captain walked towards the bench surrounded by the group of three coffins, and bent down to observe the stacked branches nearby. They were partially burnt, blackened and covered in soot, and a poignant, itchy smell still lingered in the area. The young Captain reached a palm near the top of the pile, and encountered a distinct warmth, seeping through his hand even at a distance.

"It seems you were right," he said, slowly standing up. "This was a small campfire. Even if the flames have obviously gone out, I can still smell burnt wood and smoke. Considering we're outside, that likely means that someone was here until not more than a few minutes ago, lit it for heating, then left it unattended until it went off by itself. It was too small to cause any harm to the forest, anyway, and there's no wind at all tonight."

"If that's true-" Honda intervened, "how come there's no one in the vicinity? I can't feel a single energy signature besides ours. It's true that normal souls usually don't have much spiritual pressure, but not even the slightest reiatsu? It's too suspicious."

"...Matsumoto, did the Twelfth tell you anything about the situation?" Toshiro asked, seeing the woman approach the area again.

"Looks like things are worse than we'd thought, Captain," the woman answered. "I contacted Lieutenant Kurotsuchi and asked for information. I waited a bit, and she just replied back that the Twelfth and the Research Institute are currently suffering from a full blackout. As a result, we have no communication links available and no info on possible enemies whatsoever."

"A full blackout...?"

"...Yes. Lieutenant Kurotsuchi also mentioned that the energy loss has apparently affected all of the Seireitei area."

Low murmurs filled the quiet forest area at Matsumoto's words.

 _What's going on...?_ The white-haired shinigami grimly mused. _This green sky, the coffins out of nowhere, people disappearing and now a blackout? What is Aizen trying to accomplish? I would understand the blackout, but everything else makes no sense at all. I just can't get a clear picture-_

"...Whatever the case, it would be dangerous for us to stay here too long without communications available," the young Captain eventually said out loud. "First, we're going towards the nearby town. Even if it's possible that the citizens are just all sleeping, I'd rather make sure. Saionji, lead the way, please."

"Yes, Captain." The woman bowed and turned, pointing to a specific tree. "If I remember correctly, it should be in the direction of that tree over there. There's a notch carved into the trunk as a landmark."

"Very well. Let's go, everyone."

"Yes!"

* * *

 **Soul Society, Southern Rukongai, District 6, Aomori Village**

* * *

 _I knew it... Something's definitely wrong here, too,_ Toshiro mused, looking around at an eerily quiet town.

The village was moderately big at first sight, a conglomerate of old houses and traditional buildings that stretched horizontally in front of the group of shinigami, neatly occupying the grassy plain immediately out of the forest area they had just traversed.

It was common for people to stick together in the safest Districts, as opposed to more dangerous areas, where every man was for himself: as a result, villages were bigger and more developed there. Nevertheless, the silence in that malicious night's venomous air had turned the peaceful village into a stale, colorless cluster of buildings that appeared to have been deserted for centuries.

 _There's not a soul around... But those coffins are everywhere here, too,_ the white-haired Captain thought, spotting a couple of the offending objects standing immobile around the wooden torii gate that served as the village entrance. The presence of these disquieting caskets was not limited to the forest, apparently.

 _Could they have something to do with the people disappearing?_

Toshiro's eyebrows drew even closer together as a scowl etched itself deep in his features. He stepped forward with another cursory glance to the coffins, then walked through the village entrance with a brisk pace. Following their Captain, the whole group of shinigami crossed the small gate with delicate caution.

The foul atmosphere was almost palpable in the silence, the air devoid of the familiar noises of a town in one of the most secure Rukongai Districts. Growing up in a similar environment, West Rukongai's First District, the blue-eyed Captain knew that the present quietness, far from being reassuring, was very unnatural. There, silence was absence of all movement, absence of living warmth.

Just like the forest and every other area they had passed, the green sky tinged every building in the same dull color. Here and there, dark red stains of unknown nature splotched the eerily glowing ground and the walls of the buildings like bright flowers, and dark coffins stood upright here and there, similar to barren trees.

Toshiro felt his subordinates' unrest as they followed him, Matsumoto walking beside him. He cast his Lieutenant a passing glance as he kept pacing forward. The strawberry blonde was shifting her head to the left and right, trying to peer into the almost complete darkness of the side alleys. The lack of outdoor lighting in the village, _why would the lanterns be off at this hour...?_ , made it impossible to see farther than a couple feet ahead in those cramped streets.

 _I'd like to split up and explore, but we're already too small of a group,_ Hitsugaya thought as he passed by two other nearby coffins, standing close together, almost leaning on the wall of a small, low-roofed building. _Taking risks without knowing the situation first would be suicidal, especially since we can't expect any backu-_

 _Kukuku_

"Hn?"

Toshiro whipped around to his left, following the fleeting, crystalline sound of a chuckle.

There was no one in sight.

"...Captain?" Matsumoto immediately stopped in her tracks, having noticed her superior officer's abrupt movement. "What's wrong?"

"I'd like to know that myself," the latter grumbled, eyes narrowed and scrutinizing. Azure pupils danced about in the darkness ahead, trying to spot the origin of the noise.

 _Was that a villager? Or an enemy? It was too faint to properly understand its position..._

"Did you hear anything just now, Matsumoto?" He eventually asked, turning his eyes back to a puzzled Lieutenant.

"No, I didn't..." the woman answered, her expression dark and readily alert. Aloof and feisty she might have been, but despite Toshiro's reluctance to admit it in her presence, she was a practiced and reliable Lieutenant... when she wanted to. "Do you think there's someone around? Hollows?"

"I don't know," the young Captain admitted. "It sounded like a human voice, but it was faint, and it could have been anything from a twig to the howling of the wind in this silence. I'd usually dismiss it as my imagination, but cautious is better than dead in these circumstances."

Hitsugaya laid a hand on his Zanpakuto's hilt and sternly addressed the group of shinigami behind him, still confused by his sudden alertness. "All of you, stay sharp. Even if you can't feel abnormal reiatsu, it doesn't necessarily mean we're safe. Matsumoto, you stay at the rear, just in case. Everyone else, don't wander around and keep close."

Gesturing at singular members of his Division, the Captain set to divide tasks between his subordinates in a makeshift formation. "Honda, you keep your sights on your right, Wakamatsu, on the left. The others keep their eyes open as well. I want you to cover all of our surroundings and tell me as soon as you see or hear something, even the slightest noise. Saionji, since you're the only one who's familiar with the town, I need you to immediately point out anything that strikes you as unusual. Is everything clear?"

"Yes, Captain," the whole group grumbled almost in unison, a number of focused stares nodding at him before getting in position as instructed.

The white-haired boy pensively looked at the city around him as he walked forward in front of the others, trying to spot moving figures in the half darkness, or really, anything peculiar.

 _Though honestly, everything is a peculiar sight tonight,_ he darkly considered, trying to focus his eyes in an effort to accustom them to the absence of light. _Let's see... If we want to find out what happened to the villagers, we'd better check the bigger houses first. There's a possibility they're taking shelter together somewhere._

Only the soft noise of sandals on the dry, compressed earth accompanied the group as they walked forward, unconsciously trying to make as little noise as possible, as if not wanting to disturb the silence, unspoken and unseen king of the night, in irrational fear that something ominous might crawl out of each darkened alleyway.

After a couple of minutes of wandering aimlessly, occasionally directed by Saionji's distant memories of the village, Hitsugaya eventually stopped in front of a sliding screen door, the entrance to what seemed to be either a shop or a large house. The whitewashed building, framed all around by two stories of plain windows, looked spacious enough to accommodate a decent number of people from the outside: it was as good a place as any to start investigating.

The two sides of the bamboo screen were painted with what had to be a soft blue and white wave motif in the daylight, but looked dark and foul in the green ambiance, like the corrupted waters of a swamp rising to engulf their clueless observer.

Toshiro had scarcely laid a hand on the hollow ring that allowed the screen to be pushed aside when-

 _Kukukukukuku_

 _Again?!_

"This time I heard it too, Captain-" Matsumoto whispered, zanpakuto already drawn in a flash of greenish silver and a metallic _ring_. "...Whatever it is, it's close by."

"Damn it... It's mocking us," the white-haired Captain grumbled, himself fully unsheathing his sealed zanpakuto. "Everyone, draw your weapons and spread out in front of the building with your backs to the wall. Don't wander off sight!"

"Yes!" was the collective answer as almost everyone frantically scuttled into position again.

"Matsumoto, where do you think it came from?" Toshiro asked his blonde Lieutenant.

"I can't be sure, but I think it was to our left."

"That's what I heard as well. Wakamatsu, did you see anything?" The Captain turned to his young subordinate, who unlike his peers, had not budged a single step, standing immobile with his back to them and his head twirled to the side.

He received no answer.

"... Oi, Wakamatsu?" He called again, to no avail.

The Tenth Division member didn't show any sign of having heard his Captain. His head tilted slightly to the left and his eyes fixed, unblinking, he kept staring, still like a marble statue, at a particular point to one side of the street, where Toshiro saw absolutely nothing of importance but more green darkness.

 _What's gotten into him...?_ the younger shinigami frowned. He hadn't known the young man for long, but he knew he wasn't the type to disregard orders. He tried to step forward to check on him, but was anticipated by an annoyed Lieutenant, who strode to her subordinate with brisk steps.

"Heey, Earth to Wakamatsu!" Matsumoto called in a slightly miffed tone, approaching the male and uncaringly clutching his right shoulder. "What are you standing there like a moron for? The Captain asked you a question, you know."

Again, no answer from the frozen man.

The blonde, puzzled, circled around him until she faced him directly, waving a hand in front of his eyes.

"Eh? He's not even blinking," she said, peering between the man's bangs, covering the upper part of his face, through which a pair of black pupils shone wide and as still as their owner. "Why's your face all red? Are you alright...?"

 _Kukukukukukukukukukuku_

No sooner had Toshiro heard the bell-like, silvery cackle, that he saw Wakamatsu's hand tighten on his Zanpakuto's hilt, his knuckles suddenly grasping it so tight they turned visibly white, even from a distance.

"Matsumoto! Get away from him!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Wakamatsu's hand moved faster than lightning, drawing the sword in his sheath in a motion so swift his Captain could scarcely believe that the man in front of him was the same naive, inexperienced soldier he had known until seconds ago.

The silver blade's tip swung horizontally, aiming at the Lieutenant's stomach with clearly discernible murderous intent.

With a loud _clang_ , the sealed zanpakuto stopped mere inches from its objective, blocked by Matsumoto's own Haineko.

A chorus of half-suppressed exclamations of surprise escaped from the rest of the members, eyes wide open in shock, focused on their comrade's strange behavior.

"W-what the... Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Honda, the first to recover from his confusion, screamed, rushing forward to block his comrade's assault.

Wakamatsu did not answer. But his sword did.

Without the slightest bit of hesitation, the young shinigami's blade changed objective and dashed back towards his startled companion, who in the haste to block him, had tried to seize his half raised arm from behind, intending to twist it and pin it behind his back to make him drop his weapon.

Honda's hand clutched on empty air behind Wakamatsu. His eyes widened as he reacted immediately, but was just a split second late in jumping to the side. His comrade's zanpakuto, blindingly thrust backwards to ward off the incoming threat, lightly slit the man's right arm, tearing uniform and skin together.

 _"Kuh-"_ Toshiro saw his subordinate wince, testing the wound with a finger and withdrawing it tinted in copious red. "He's serious!"

 _Kukukukukukukukukukukukukuku_

 _Damn you, not now..._ Toshiro grimaced, looking around, unable to spot the enemy. _Wait... Don't tell me..._

As if waiting for that sound, Wakamatsu turned and dashed forward towards a startled Honda, eyes wide open and crazed in frenzied bloodlust, his face indeed tinged slightly redder than usual.

Before he had a chance to swing down his sword again, the young Captain moved with shunpo in the middle of the two, blocking the arc of his zanpakuto with Hyourinmaru's side.

"Stay back!" He motioned at Honda and the others. "He's probably being controlled by the enemy."

 _Damn it... it's clear he isn't in his right mind,_ Hitsugaya thought, as he caught another swing midway. His opponent's strength was clearly no match for his, but while he hesitated in harming one of his own men who likely had no idea what he was doing, his adversary had no such restraint, as he kept wildly swinging his sword around.

 _I don't want to hurt him too much,_ the white-haired Captain thought, shoving Wakamatsu back with a sudden swipe of his foot, knocking his own off balance and making the other male stumble backwards, _but I have to stop him, somehow, or he might wound someone else. The only way to do this without hurting him too much is-_

 _"Sit upon the frozen heavens!"_ Hitsugaya chanted his shikai release. _"Hyourinmaru!"_

A wave of reiatsu accompanied the child Captain's words, coursing through the shinigami's bodies as the atmosphere grew progressively colder. A familiar icy feeling in the grip welcomed his owner's fingers.

The sword arched low, quite distant from its intended target's body. But that was exactly what Hitsugaya wanted.

Ice shot forward from Hyourinmaru's silvery swing like a living bundle of snakes, instantly encasing Wakamatsu's legs and a portion of his torso before he had a chance to move out of the way, effectively holding him in place. Knocked out of balance again for a second, this time hit by an even stronger force, the young man flailed his arms and dropped his sword.

"Matsumoto!"

"On it!"

Before the _clang_ of metal hit the ground, with a quick swipe, the Lieutenant had the zanpakuto in her hands and out of harm's way.

The crazed shinigami instantly tried to reach down and pick it up, but his efforts were blocked by the thick layer of ice trapping him, forbidding him to bend or move away. The blonde moved back with her subordinate's sword safely in her hands, heaving a half relieved breath when out of his reach.

As if frustrated, Wakamatsu continued to fruitlessly struggle against the ice encasing his legs, swinging down his arms and punching it repeatedly at even intervals. Toshiro knew he had no chance to escape, and if his subordinate was in his right mind, he was certain he would as well. Another proof that something was controlling the man's mind. Scowling, the Captain observed the older shinigami with furrowed brows, as the latter's punches relentlessly hit his restraints.

 _He's going to hurt himself if he keeps this up, but it's better if I'm careful with the ice,_ Toshiro thought, as he considered knocking the man out cold in order to make him stop. He decided against it, if only to see if he could somehow find out the cause of his sudden change by observing his reactions. He might point him to the culprit, after all. _His punches aren't that heavy... He should be alright. I held back as much as I could, but I hope he doesn't get frostbite. Captain Unohana isn't going to like this._

"You guys try to block his arms and keep him still, before he breaks all the bones in his hands," he gestured at his subordinates, tiredly sighing and brushing strands of white hair back from his face. "Matsumoto, come with me. I'm going to have a look around to see if I can find who's responsible for this."

"Got it," Matsumoto handed Wakamatsu's sword to another Division member, warning him to stay away from the enraged young man, then walked back to her Captain's side. "Alright... Where do we start looking?"

"Remember how Wakamatsu was looking that way just before he went berserk?" The youth pointed to his left side as he spoke. In that direction, further ahead, the ample road they had been traversing intersected perpendicularly with another, creating a crisscross of different streets framed by buildings, leading somewhere deeper in the village. "My guess is that he was looking at whoever's causing this, and likely at the source of the noise."

"Makes sense," his Lieutenant nodded approvingly. "Should we go have a look, then?"

"Yeah. But be careful. This enemy likely has some weird mind control abilities."

The blonde Lieutenant and her white-haired Captain walked forward side by side, directing their steps at the darkness of the intricate labyrinth of roads ahead, inside which only faint moonlight vaguely outlined the buildings' rough surfaces.

Arriving at the center of the intersection, Toshiro noticed again sparse coffins lying to the side, a mock substitute for people. Other than the disquieting objects, all was as perfectly still and silent as it had been from the very beginning of that insane night.

 _I don't see anything special for now,_ the child Captain mused, glancing around the empty space from which four main roads spread out in a perfect cross, surrounded by various secondary alleyways. _We'll have to look deeper in the streets one by one-_

"Hm?" He heard Matsumoto hum questioningly next to him.

"What is it, Matsumoto?"

"It might be nothing, but-" the blonde, whispering as not to startle a dangerous animal, raised a long finger to the side, towards a narrow gap in-between two of the houses that framed the intersecting streets. "Look carefully at the space between those buildings. Isn't that shadow-...?"

The white-haired youth moved closer, unconsciously moving with noiseless steps. He followed the extended finger's path and looked forward to the black stain framing the side a greenish building.

 _I can't see anything ... huh?_

Toshiro saw something stir.

Without that small movement, he probably would never have noticed it, so perfectly it blended in the darkness. There was a blacker stain in the obscurity, something foreign, small, and upon closer inspection, human-looking.

As if sensing that it had been discovered, the shadowy figure seemed to move a nervous forward.

A small-sized head poked out of the gap, tilting to the left and right, as if making sure that its surroundings were safe.

"... A _child?"_

No sooner had Toshiro uttered those words, that the mysterious human-looking silhouette ducked back in the obscurity of the shadows, like a scared lizard.

"Do you think that child is-?" Matsumoto asked, stepping forward.

"... I don't know. But it would be stupid to follow him by ourselves in this darkness," Toshiro begrudgingly considered. "It's better if we return to the others for now. They might be attacked again."

The busty Lieutenant nodded and turned back to the street the two had come from, setting off in the direction of the large house where the rest of the group was waiting.

The other members of the Tenth Division were scarcely in sight when-

 _"W-waaaaah!"_

"Wh- _where_ did you people-?"

"... Shinigami?!"

"What is-"

A chorus of startled cries accompanied the sudden relighting of the wooden poles, over which cream colored round night lanterns now shone brightly, illuminating the village like giant fireflies.

The green nightmare was over as quickly as it had begun.

There wasn't a single coffin in sight. In their place, dozens of wide-eyed villagers of all ages, dressed in colorful yukata and haori, stared confusedly at the shinigami standing in the middle of the road. Some of them had let out a surprised yell at their appearance, as if the strangest occurrence wasn't the sudden reappearance of a number of missing villagers out of thin air, but the presence of the shinigami themselves.

Toshiro could do nothing but stand there, rooted on the spot, while his brain tried to cope with the absurdity of the present situation.

Why were they all looking at _them_ as they were some sort of... irregularity? Where were they all this time? What happened to the coffins?

"It's over...?" Honda was the one who asked what the shinigami were all wondering in a half-voice, mouth agape, a hand pressing a bloodstained cloth to the wound on his arm.

 _"Ngh..._ What the-?!"

Another grumble reached Toshiro's ears. He turned to see Wakamatsu awake, his face back to its original color, struggling helplessly against the ice, his previously crazed expression substituted by surprise and confusion. "Wha-...why are my legs frozen?!"

"You've come to your senses?" the Captain asked, observing his subordinate for a moment.

"Come to my senses...? W-what's going on?!" Wakamatsu asked, twisting his head around to look helplessly at his comrades, as if looking for an explanation. "I... I was keeping a lookout, and... I... What did I-?"

 _He really seems to be back to normal..._ Toshiro thought to himself, eyeing the young man with a scrutinizing gaze. He looked to be genuinely confused. _He doesn't seem to remember anything... As I thought, it was probably the enemy's doing. Does that mean that these... powers, worked only during the green sky thing?_

The boy sighed and swung his sword low, shattering the ice into thousands of minuscule, glittering shards. "It looks like you were controlled by the enemy. I'll have to hear your statement later. Since everything seems to be back to normal, you and Honda go to the Fourth. Matsumoto, let's go talk to those villagers. Something's still-..."

With the corner of his eye, Toshiro saw the black wings of a floating black butterfly come towards him as he spoke.

Interrupting his sentence, he raised his arm to it, the mystic critter landing gently on the back of his hand, bearer of much needed news.

* * *

 _ **Intermezzo II**_

* * *

 **?**

 **September 4th , 2011, 02:43**

* * *

 _Mail_

 _Inbox_

 _From: Nakamura Shouji_

 _To: Kirijo Mitsuru_

 _Object: Status Report_

 _Date: 9/4/2011, 02:35_

 _Attachment: 03092011_

Forgive the early hour, Kirijo-san. As requested, I have forwarded to you the results of our initial analysis of what occurred a couple of hours ago. I am confident we will have more detailed data to show you as soon as you reach the lab. I will be expecting you in the Meeting Room at the appointed time. Yamagishi-san is on her way and will be there as well.

 _Download attachment_ _03092011_

 _Decrypt?_

 _Yes_ _No_

 _Insert password key_

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _Decrypting..._

 _The file has been successfully decrypted_

 _Open document_

 **Incident Report**

Incident Date: between September 3rd to 4th, 2011

Affected location: Japan area. Yet unable to confirm worldwide exposure due to difference in time zones and difficulties in communication. Investigation pending.

Estimated time: immediately prior to 12AM of the 4th.

Incident recap: complete inability to operate mechanical and electronic devices not specially engineered. Total loss of electrical power in the entirety of the building, confirmed to have extended throughout all the city. Moon reported to have grown in size and outside scenery highly distorted. Transmogrification of all personnel not equipped with a Pseudopotential Ring into objects resembling coffins for the approximate duration of an hour. Said individuals retain no memory of the incident.

All aforementioned facts are believed to be consistent with the phenomenon known as **Dark Hour** (see Files **xx05** to **xx22** in Archive number xx7).

 **Urgent**

Suspected Shadow activity registered in the following areas during the incident:

1) LAT 34°24'N LON 135°09'E

2) LAT 35°00'N LON 135°45'E

3) LAT 36°4'N LON 138°10'E

4) LAT 35°18'N LON 136°48'E

Impossible to retrieve further data due to disappearance of Shadow signals in concurrence with the termination of the phenomenon. Direct intervention required.

 _Riiiiiiiiiiiiing_

 _Riiiiiiiiiiiing_

 _Incoming call: Yamagishi Fuuka_

 _Accept_

"...Kirijo speaking."

 _"Mitsuru-senpai? It's Fuuka. I just called to tell you I'm on my way to the lab, but it'll take me around an hour at least to get there by train..."_

"Don't worry about it. Nakamura-san has already warned me. I'm still on my way as well, so I imagine I won't be much earlier than you."

 _"O-oh, I see... That's good. Do you know anything about the others yet?"_

"Yes. Almost everyone called as soon as it was over, understandably. I told them we'd meet up as soon as I have more detailed information. Akihiko is the only one who hasn't called me yet, but he should still be in... Mexico, I believe, if he hasn't moved again. It should be around midday of yesterday right now there, so he probably still hasn't noticed. I'll contact him as soon as I can."

 _"...Mexico? Why is Akihiko-senpai all the way there? Is it a mission?"_

"Nothing of the sort, no. He mentioned something like... going on a... _training trip_. As outlandish as it sounds, it's very much possible that he was completely serious."

 _"U-um, yes... He always was a bit, uh-"_

"...You have no need to look for the right words, Yamagishi. I assure you, I know _exactly_ what you're thinking about. _Hah..._ Well. Moving on to more pressing topics... I trust you received the report as well?"

 _"... Yes. I just finished reading it."_

 _"..."_

"Yamagishi?"

 _"A-ah, sorry, senpai. I was... lost in thought for a moment."_

"... Is the situation troubling you?"

 _"I guess that's it, but... not, at the same time. I just don't understand... I feel like-"_

"..."

 _"I-it's like we've been... fighting for nothing, all this time. I can't even explain why. It feels...-"_

"... Like there's something missing? Something _wrong?_ "

 _"You too, Mitsuru-senpai?"_

"Yes. It's been bothering me... ever since our last battle. Or what we can actually recall of it, to be precise. It's all too confusing... as if we're missing the central piece of a puzzle. I'm not comfortable with being left in the dark like this either."

 _"..."_

"But we can't let ourselves be bothered by the past forever. Whatever is going on, it's our duty to right this. That's why I decided to pursue this road. I intend to find the answer to every mystery surrounding the Dark Hour, and I'm going to need your help once again for that, Yamagishi."

 _"Y-yes, I know. Forgive me. I'm letting my emotions get the better of me."_

"No need to apologize. As I told you... I understand. Completely."

 _"I know. I'm... It was selfish of me. I know you feel the same, and the others must, too."_

" _Hah..._ You don't have to feel guilty at all. Ill-omened feelings aside, I must confess that I don't have a single clue what's happening. I'm completely stranded."

 _"Me neither... Nothing in your recent test data ever showed hints of the Dark Hour resurfacing. Even though you just finished setting up the new lab, it's unthinkable the researchers would miss something like of this scale. It's just... completely unexpected."_

"Exactly. Prior to this night, the Shadow readings have been mostly quiet. I asked the Doctor for more details, but I don't believe he would make a mistake. And of course, there's no way a Dark Hour of such a large scale could be brought about by one of our prototype boxes. Even a year after development, it doesn't seem to work outside a close space."

 _"So then... The source of this sudden comeback is still unknown?"_

"As of now, yes. But what's really bothering me are those Shadow readings, suddenly showing up in so many places at once... Tartarus isn't even there anymore. That much we've been able to confirm... What are so many Shadows doing outside in urban areas? They can't be small ones, either, to be picked up by the radars so easily."

 _"Those coordinates, you mean? Yes, it is really weird. And all in the span of a single night... It never happened before, not all at the same time. By the way, do you know what the coordinates point to, senpai? I haven't had the time to confirm that."_

"I've just had Kikuno check that. The first is the most troubling of all... it points right to the outskirts of Port Island."

 _"W-what?! So close...?"_

"Apparently. That's part of the reason why I plan to call all of our ex-SEES comrades from the very beginning. I'm afraid there will be battles ahead, and we'll need our full power, even from those not directly involved with the Shadow Operatives."

 _"...And about the other three coordinates?"_

"It looks like the others are indicating respectively the city of Kyoto, a small town named Karakura, and Ichinomiya in Aichi."

 _"I'd understand Port Island, but what about the other places? Is it coincidence, or-..."_

"It's too early to say, I'm afraid. Certainly, the only place that has a direct connection to us or to my grandfather's old research is Port Island. Even though we've gone to Kyoto on our trip back in high school, I doubt it has any relevance. I'm not sure about the others, but I'm positive I've never been to Ichinomiya, and I've never even heard of this Karakura town before. I think it's in Nagano Prefecture, or so Kikuno told me."

 _"Same with me. I've never been to either of those places. I guess we should wait until Doctor Nakamura finds some lead."_

"I agree. For now, we'll see how this morning's meeting goes. I'll call the rest of the group tomorrow to arrange a meeting and bring them up to speed, and Akihiko needs to be informed as well. By the way, Yamagishi, this is the first time you've actually come in person to our new lab, isn't it?"

 _"A-ah, yes, even though I've been keeping in touch with Nakamura-san for tests and such. I'm quite excited to see it working, to be honest."_

"Haha, I can imagine that. I trust you won't be disappointed. I'll send Aigis down to get you at the entrance, since you don't know the way. She's been eager to see you after so long."

 _"Ah, that's great! I can't wait to see her, too. Thank you, Senpai. I'll be there in a short while."_

"Very well. And Yamagishi."

 _"Yes?"_

"...Try to be at ease. Whatever this situation will lead us to, I'm confident we'll find the keys to the locked doors in our memories, sooner or later."

 _"Thank you, Mitsuru-san. I mean it."_

"You're welcome, Yamagishi. I'll see you in a short while."

 _"Likewise. See you, senpai!"_

 _End call_

* * *

 _ **Welcome to the Velvet Room, everyone.**_

 _ **It's been such a long time... seriously, I'm ashamed. This chapter took me way more time to write than I would have thought. As apology, I've made it extra long. The last part was supposed to be in the next chapter, but I've been itching to get the Persona side of this fanfiction going. The shinigami have met with yet another enemy (I've thrown hints here and there, so any theories are welcome) while the Shadow Operatives face the reappearance of an old threat.**_

 _ **Our musical piece this time around is actually from the original soundtrack of a very famous game series, so you could see it as a "contemporary" take on classical. It's a very short and simple piano tune, but it stuck so beautifully in my head ever since I played the game. I felt it had just the right amount of mystery and creepiness for this chapter. Imagine it being played on repeat, as an obsessive music box-like tune... I just love well-made game OSTs.**_

 _ **Now, onto answering questions... more than a month later. I'm really sorry.**_

 _ **To Guest: remember that at this point in time in the plot, Yu is still in the middle of his adventure, so he's still a regular Wild Card. As such, he's not at Minako's current level, with her being the Great Seal. As you saw in this chapter, the Shadow Operatives are already... well, operative, and they did notice the strange occurrence in Karakura. However, remember that Hollows and Shadows are apparently similar, but two very different things. Persona Users do not necessarily have the ability to see spirits, because their power is different from a Shinigami's or a Fullbringer's. As to the other Captains, I think I mentioned in an earlier chapter that the Persona incidents have been kept secret to almost everyone in Seireitei, due to the decision of the Central 46. You'll see later that everything has a reason.**_

 _ **To gatekeeper: I think I said this back on chapter 3, maybe, but in this fanfiction, I've reversed who is trapped by the Great Seal. In the Male MC's storyline (the "canon" one), Minato was trapping Nyx in order to prevent Erebus from getting to her and for her not to hear humanity's pleas for death. In this "non-canon" story, Minako is trapping Erebus instead, so that he won't be able to influence Nyx, who is not hostile per se, while both the Great Seal and Nyx are closed off from the world by the Chains and trapped in the Great Seal's Dimension. But, even then, you'll see as we proceed with the plot that the circumstances of this particular Dark Hour are somewhat abnormal. You can think of it as similar to the "Dark Hour" in Persona 4 Ultimax, for example. I think I'm getting a bit too convoluted in my explanation, but I hope it's somewhat understandable.**_

 _ **To the "please please" Guest (I don't know how else to call you): I'm sorry it took me so long, but know that your review brought a massive smile to my face. I'm so happy to know that someone is waiting for my stories. Thank you so much!**_

 _ **Well then, I'll see you all next chapter, hopefully sooner than almost two months away this time. A huge thank you to every single follower/favorite/reviewer. Please do take the time to point out inconsistencies or such (unfortunately, I can hardly remember every single detail of two different massive storylines like Bleach and P3) or to just tell me what you think, if you want to. I'm always happy to see a new review. Till next time.**_

 _ **Until then, farewell.**_


	6. Romeo & Juliet: Overture Fantasy

**I do not own any part of Bleach and Persona 3 Portable. All rights belong to Tite Kubo and to Atlus. I only own my original storyline and characters.**

* * *

 _ **Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Romeo And Juliet: Overture-Fantasy**_

* * *

 **?**

 **?**

* * *

Blood red eyes opened, incandescent, to a green dream.

The world she saw when her lashes parted was a tangled swirl of that color she loathed, spiraling, slowly but surely, as if trying to rewind itself on its tracks and revert to its original form.

 _..._

Perfect silence.

Not quite unusual.

 _...Is this a dream? When did I fall asleep?_

Try as she might, the girl couldn't remember at all.

Like a diligent actress, she closed her eyes and re-read the script of her memories.

No drowsiness, no yawns she could recall. She was... quietly looking at a mock Moon, in a mock night sky, in a mock world she was confined in for the rest of eternity. An automatic bat of her eyelids, fast like the fluttering of a butterfly's wings, and she was suddenly... _where?_

The background of the scene had changed dramatically with her still onstage, and the unknowing girl felt like she had accidentally stumbled in another play, no, another _theater_ entirely. As if she'd been a dainty étoile, ready to dance in a ballet, only to find herself, as the curtain opened, in a Shakespearean tragedy.

While her brain, taken by surprise, slowly reconnected the threads of sight to reason, her eyes took the time to focus on the recomposing picture of a face directly in front of her, blurry and unrecognizable as if someone had roughly smudged with the palm of his hand a drawing made with colored chalk.

 _Who is this?_

 _Blink._

It was still there. _Huh._ Apparently, this particular dream was a bit of a tough one to wake up from.

As if rewinding themselves back, the multicolored, chaotic blurs that composed the face (how did she even know it was a _face_ , anyway?) moved and shifted to finally reveal themselves in painstakingly detailed realism.

The girl saw the perfect twin of herself, all big crimson eyes on a canvas of pale skin, almost white in the crude contrast with her black clothes and the greenish darkness, mirrored on a smooth surface directly in front of her.

She'd seen it before, she immediately realized. Not her own face, obviously. _That_ , she'd watched the ghostlike reflection of far too many times. She somehow remembered that same piece of glass she was staring dumbfounded at, set into a kind of... frame? Like a mirror? Her vision was still sort of dark at the edges.

 _...Where am I, again?_ she thought, eyelids narrowing over her crimson eyes.

 _The million dollar question, ladies and gentlemen._ _Is anyone still with me, out there in the audience?_

...

 _Didn't think so._

Tasteless jokes aside, the absence of the outside air's crisp coolness on her face told the girl that she was undoubtedly indoors. But this wasn't one of the rooms of the space she had in the last _(who knows how many)_ years, though reluctantly at first, and probably _still_ , called home.

The lighting was completely wrong (she couldn't stress enough how green was a color she _definitely_ would not choose in any situation), no repetitive piano music ( _how_ she missed her mp3 player), no disquieting, shadowy bodies twirling all around her whenever she had the courage to actually go down to the lower floors. Was it a new room in the Sealed Dimension, sprung out from her subconscious like a mushroom? Or a place she'd overlooked all this time, hidden in some obscure corner? A kind present from those Soul Society guys? ( _Yeah, right. I've honestly had enough of their "presents".)_

...No. From a little bright spot, hidden deep in her shadowed memory, she remembered standing in that place before, in exactly that same position, looking at that common, boring piece of glass. More than a visual image, it was a nagging sensation of repeat, similar to a déjà-vu.

For a dream, if it _was_ one, and she was fairly sure of that by then, the level of detail was certainly quite impressive. The girl could see every vein in the dark mahogany, the gleam of the golden handles set roughly at the level of her elbows _(have I grown a little taller...?),_ the hasty, old and recent scratches of a key, missing its mark around the keyhole in the dark.

In front of her was a double set of panels made of wood, decorated with an identical geometrical design of colored glass windows, mirrored on the two sides, each piece neatly framed with gold-plated metal.

Her reflection still stared at her with an expectant look, as if asking _how long are you going to take to figure this out?_

 _Well, sorry. You weren't much help in the first place._

A door.

Door: "something that leads inside or outside places", or "something that locks people _out_ of places", or again "something that locks people _inside_ places", which was the singular possible use of a door she was currently most acquainted with.

 _That_ door.

It was the entrance to a place she had no difficulties recalling, yet sometimes wished she could leave behind entirely, for her own good. Wishful thinking and nothing more.

"I'm...-?"

 _What?_ **_Home?_**

 _(Wishful thinking, I said.)_

 _If I turn around now... Will someone be there?_

Not the faintest sound answered her, and that was an answer in itself.

The tightness in her soft palm and her fingernails digging in it made her realize that she could freely move in the dream. Puzzled, the girl lifted her right hand and tentatively touched one of the smaller glass panels, framing the outside of the decorative motif on the familiar door. The sting of its coldness filtered through the skin of her finger pads, as if reassuring her that she really was touching that smooth surface.

What a weird, trickster, traitorous dream, trying to disguise itself as reality.

She'd have to ask Pharos about it later, when she happened to see him. He hadn't shown himself in a while _(days? weeks? years?)_ , now that she thought about it. Wherever in the whole Dimension he went when he wasn't with her, she had no idea, and asking directly would almost certainly be pointless.

Silently, experimentally, almost, the girl lifted a black-clad foot and brought it behind her body, stepping backwards. It moved, as smoothly as she would have expected it to in the "real" world.

To be fair, differentiating between real and not had become increasingly difficult for her in the last few... _whatevers_.

But no matter. Dream or not, she couldn't just stand there gaping like a moron forever.

Freedom of movement... _Check._

Next.

 _Clack, clack, clack._ Even the sound of her boots' low heels on the green tiled flooring rang perfectly natural, echoing in the desolate silence like that of a rock dropped into a deep well.

She moved a slender neck, this time. Looking around the room, then having her whole body follow her head to face the rest of the empty hall.

 _Check_ , again.

There wasn't a single thing out of place.

It was marvelous how after so _(...how?)_ long, she could still notice that nothing was missing.

The unlit old-fashioned TV was behind the glass partition separating the living room area from the rest of the entrance hall, with a fake flower vase on top of it, two dusty, lonely-looking plastic daisies of a faded and sickly yellow color left to stare pathetically at whoever had some time to kill.

The girl had always thought it horribly tacky, but none of her senpai would admit to having bought it.

 _The facts of the case are as follows_ , she explained to an invisible jury. The incriminating object had been there ever since the day of her arrival at the dorm, thus automatically excluding all the people who moved in after her. She knew for a fact Yukari wouldn't be caught dead buying _"that cheap stuff"_ : her disdain for fake flowers was well _(all too well)_ known by everyone in the dorm, and she never failed to refresh their memories, whenever that vase had the misfortune to enter her field of vision. It could have been that an old student had left it there before leaving, but the girl wasn't buying it. Why not just throw it away after they left? No, there was attachment there, _oh jurors._ Either that, or a wounded pride, possibly both. _Remember this, if you will. Let us move forward._

All the aforementioned facts considered, her money was on Akihiko-senpai. Her and Junpei had had a kind of bet going on, him vehemently claiming it had to be Mitsuru-senpai instead, but no one had ever driven the villain to confess his or her crime.

The slightly worn out leather brown sofas, two armchairs and a three-seats, were still there around the low coffee table, where an ornate, _way_ too elaborate, immaculately white centerpiece screamed _Kirijo_ out of every tiny hole in its lacy uselessness. Or better yet, _Kirijo's maid or butler_ , or _Kirijo's interior designer_ , most likely. She just couldn't picture a stern-looking Mitsuru in a home décor shop, frowning at a dozen different pillows as she did at misbehaving students. It was too foreign an image, not unlike like the one still freshly painted in her mind, from that day when the red-haired heiress had insisted on going to Wuck Burger with her. Not bursting out in giggles as Mitsuru eyed her double cheeseburger with confusion had probably been the most difficult task the girl had ever accomplished in her living years.

All of those images eventually liquefied into more fuel on the flames of her suspicion towards Akihiko-senpai for that terrible excuse for a vase, _ladies and gentlemen of the jury_. Somehow, she could picture him picking it randomly, as clueless in front of dozens of perfectly worthless little objects as any average Japanese teenage male. The imaginary scene was simply hilarious. And just a little adorable.

Even the luxuriant potted plant in the far corner of the lobby was exactly as she remembered it, not a branch out of place. Had been there ever since she'd moved in, that one too. For some reason, the girl had a vivid image of Ken watering it with a huge, red plastic watering can, struggling to keep it up with his small body, but too prideful and ashamed to ask for help.

He was the only male in the dorm who could be bothered with the task. She doubted Akihiko-senpai or Junpei had ever stopped to consider if the plants needed water or not. Maybe Shinji, though... She knew more than anyone else how unexpectedly homely he could be, but strictly when he thought no one was looking his way ( _that stubborn, insufferable idiot)_. Even if she'd asked, he would never admit it, not even to her, who was- _(-..._ _ **stop**_ _.)_

The girl froze, and as soon as she noticed the smile on her lips and tried to hold onto it, it was already gone, withered away.

Reminiscing was all she had left, and she would never cease to enjoy the tiniest gestures, the meaningless banter, the whispered words, the cheerful laughs floating in her mind.

But there was such a thing as going too far. How could she _still_ forget that...?

She sighed, scolding traitorous thoughts and shooing them, hopefully disciplined, in their little closed room, from which the ghosts of happier times sometimes managed to sneak out and cause a quite unneeded ruckus in her feelings.

And she'd thought she had gotten better at controlling herself. _Idiot. You let your guard down again-_

 _Clack._

Someone was turning the key in the front door's lock from the outside.

The girl, half startled, turned back to the opening door once again, to admire with a mixture of confusion and discomfort a younger version of _herself,_ certainly not a reflection this time, struggling with a sizable suitcase and an equally challenging sports bag on her shoulder, wobbling unsteadily on the threshold under the green haze of the Dark Hour.

 _It's just like science-fiction._

Playful trips through time and space. To save the world from unknown threats, to find lost knowledge. One of those stories where the one cardinal rule is to never, ever, ever meet your past self, for doing so would trigger a destructive paradox, causing a rip in the fabric of reality _(whatever that means)_ that would destroy the universe when the two _you_ touch. The girl unconsciously stepped back to allow her younger self more room to move.

 _Past-Her_ didn't seem to share her worries in the slightest and proceeded to push the door closed with a foot, unaware of the contradiction of her presence. She apparently could not see her older self.

The girl watched with almost amused curiosity as Past-Her fumbled with her enormous luggage, somehow twirling her body back to face the door and wrestling with the lock, turning the key again inside it and withdrawing it quickly to unceremoniously shove it in her uniform jacket's pocket.

 _Clack._ Sound of the door locking.

 _Clack._ A second turn of the key.

To see Past-Her from an outside perspective, to stare at her every movement as she gingerly set down her bag, balancing it on top of the suitcase, and looked around the lobby with a lost look, was nothing short than mesmerizing. If the girl had to make a comparison, it was similar to watching an old video of yourself years after the taking: an experience both nostalgic and uncomfortable at the same time. _(Look, I was so short. My cheeks were so puffy. Oh God, I had horrible taste in clothing.)_

The way she set her foot down silently, as if to avoid making too much noise, probably in fear of waking up her new dorm mates; the black Gekkoukan uniform she wore, new and perfectly fitted; her nervous tugging at the ends of her long sleeves, an unconscious habit that surfaced whenever she was unsure what to do; her chestnut hair in a neat ponytail swinging, following the movements of her head with a second's delay; the crossed bobby pins she used to always wear.

 _XXII._ What's _The Universe_ plus one? Twenty two, and zero. Everything, and nothing.

How ironic.

The girl twirled a thin finger in a rebellious strand of her own hair, recently sneaked in front of her left eye, and pushed it back behind her ear a little too forcefully.

Her hair was much longer than Past-Hers, unsurprisingly, she found herself considering. _Way_ too much so, in fact.

Her rust-colored waves had somehow smoothed in time, probably due to the unusual weight, since she'd never let it grow so long before. She still hated having strands all over her face. Reduced to an unruliness that was neither wavy nor straight, dripping abundantly past her shoulder blades and almost down to her elbows, her hair now flowed down her black-clad back and shoulders like melted threads of metal, unbound. She never ceased to find it foreign, as if it wasn't really hers.

Looking back at her younger self, the girl felt out of place in her own dark-green-tinted dream of past days.

She couldn't recognize herself in the person she was supposed to have been at one point, now a distant acquaintance at most. Memories shaped the person, and that girl in front of her was too naive, too inexperienced... too hopeful and still dreaming of the future to be her.

Did she envy her? Yes. And no.

"Welcome."

The familiar, limpid voice of a child broke the silence and the trail of her thoughts.

 _He_ was sitting on the empty reception desk counter, snugly lying back on his hands, welcoming Past-Her with a calm half-smile that looked so mature on his childish features.

Even in her new perspective, the girl had utterly failed to notice him until he spoke: yet, he looked like he had always been there. Like he had been just waiting for her eyes to outline his silhouette in the shadows of the Dark Hour.

Exactly like he _still_ did, she smiled to herself for a moment at the thought, popping out of absolutely nowhere whenever she was absolutely certain he wasn't there. She'd never understood whether he did it on purpose to startle her, or just didn't have a sense of personal space. The kid was quite sneaky, in the past and in the present alike.

The girl saw Past-Her nearly jump, startled by the unexpected presence, as _he_ swiftly slithered down the counter, fluid like a snake, to land smoothly, barefoot, on the floor in front of her.

Even Pharos was exactly the same as always, down to the last stripe on his pajamas ensemble. He hadn't changed a bit in all that _(how much?)_ time.

Only _she_ had.

"...You're late. I've been waiting a long time."

It was like watching a movie you had already watched time and time again, with all the knowledge of the ending.

The girl understood, now, that _a long time_ meant much more to Pharos than a matter of hours or even days. Past-Her, though, stunned, grumbled something in apology, none the wiser.

"If you want to proceed, then please sign here," the blue-eyed child continued. "It's a contract."

She glanced sideways at the cream-colored piece of paper, lying abandoned on the counter.

Nine words and an empty line that changed her life.

 _I._

 _Chooseth._

 _This._

 _Fate._

 _Of._

 _Mine._

 _Own._

 _Free._

 _Will._

 _( Sign here for Death)_

Nine nails in her coffin.

"Moron," she whispered, marveling at how coarse her voice was. "Sixteen years of life and you still haven't learned not to sign any shady papers from a stranger, no matter how cute he looks."

"You _wound_ me, Minako-chan," a distinctly deeper voice answered her, in an almost pathetic whine. "I thought we'd long passed the _strangers_ stage, you and I. But thank you for that last part."

The girl had recognized that voice long before seeing its owner in front of her.

Black, slicked back hair. His impossibly blue eyes. The bright yellow scarf, lined with black, he always wore. Every detail was perfect, down to his thin black suspenders, down to the way he stuck a lazy hand in his trousers' pocket without appearing bored or pretentious. And he was undoubtedly looking at her. Smiling at her. _Talking_ to her.

"Ryoji... kun?"

He couldn't possibly be there. His body was-

"Indeed, _princess,"_ he answered her with a warm smirk and his usual cheekiness, half bowing in jest. It sent a whirlwind of mixed pain and relief spiraling in her gut, and his blue eyes widened at the expression she knew she'd been making. "Um... Too cheesy? I-I can try that again, y'know."

He rubbed the back of his neck, as if embarrassed. His suddenly sheepish expression forcibly extorted a chuckle from her, hidden deep in her lungs for who knew how long.

 _He's real... He's really here._

All of a sudden she couldn't see him well anymore, and she frowned, disappointed. There was something clouding her vision. A blurry sheen, getting in the way.

 _Come now... I really want to see him, so don't-_

 _Clack, clack, clack._ Sound of shoes that weren't hers.

She hadn't realized she had lowered her head to the ground, until she felt the warm pad of a fingertip touch her cheek, tracing under her jaw, slowly tilting her chin upwards as if handling something fragile as the thinnest glass.

He had always looked like he was afraid to touch her, afraid to hurt her. She could see the doubt in his eyes every time they spoke, laughed, cried.

The girl found herself in front of his blue, electric, glowing eyes.

Just a single step away.

How could he be Death when he looked so human, so... _alive?_

"Minako-chan... I am so happy to see you again. In this form, at least."

There were so many things she wanted to say back to him, things she never found the courage or the right moment to ask, because, once again, there simply wasn't enough _time_. There _never_ was enough time. Whether for Ryoji, or for _-_... for everyone else.

 _"Minako... Please... kill me... I don't want you to suffer..."_

She could still hear his voice from back then, and feel the crushing weight of the gun in her hands.

 _Idiot..._

 _Then don't leave me... Not you too._

Her forehead found itself pressed down on his white-clad shoulder, and in front of her eyes was finally comforting, warm darkness. Somehow, a hand had found its way up to clutch his shirt, just above his heart, to hold onto him. To make him _stay_ , talk to her at least a single minute more.

Her brain decided at that point to casually warn her that she was going to make a mess on his poor, innocent white shirt.

To hell with that. It was all a dream. No matter how much she wished it wasn't.

 _Also, I'm pretty sure Nyx has more than enough power to dry off tear stains from a shirt._

Minako had always hated letting people see her cry. It was a longtime habit, mastered in years of practice, for her to let her tears fall silently, without a hiccup, without a sound, and so she did this time as well, hiding the proof of her guilt on Ryoji's shoulder.

How many days had passed without a single word being spoken to her, without her seeing anything other than beautiful but empty scenery and the occasional, but so, so _rare_ , smile of the only young friend left to her solitude? How many days without no one to reassure her that she actually _existed?_

But, dream or not dream, he was there, solid, and warm, and alive; and just by feeling him close, she knew for a fact that she simply _was,_ right in that moment.

Ryoji's hand patted her head, carefully, like a mother's when consoling her child. His fingers slowly tangled in her long hair and stroked her scalp with round motions, free hand soon busy running over her immobile arm in a soothing gesture. He had to feel the dampness on his shoulder, but he didn't question her, and for that, she was extremely grateful.

Minako wondered, for a second, if he knew exactly how to calm her, fingers fluttering up and down, up, and down her arm, from her own desperately distant memories of her mother doing the same gesture when she was only a child, back before the top of her neat house of cards started crumbling, slowly but surely falling to the ground until there was nothing left standing.

"It's ok," he whispered softly to her temple, almost as if he had sensed her thoughts. "It's ok. I'm here with you. I'll always be with you."

 _(_ _ **liar, liar-**_ _)_ _(-..._ _ **oh shut up**_ _.)_

She didn't dare speak immediately, in fear that her voice betrayed her.

Did a second pass, or a minute? An hour?

"I'm... happy to see you... too," Minako eventually said, as slowly and evenly as she could. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.

"Haha, that's good, then-" she felt laughter rumble in the boy's chest, light soothing vibrations transmitted to her by her forehead still on his shoulder and his own hand on her arm, holding her gently by the elbow. "I was starting to think I'd be better off as a child... You really make the cutest squeals when I poke you from behind, you know-" The crimson-eyed girl felt him chuckle again and playfully tap her shoulder. "But then I decided I'd show off my handsome looks for a change, just in case you'd forgotten-"

Minako scowled, finally lifting her head from Ryoji's shoulder to glare at the raven haired teen through a wall of still wet lashes over reddened eyes. "I _knew_ it was on purpose, you-..." she grumbled, trying to hide her amusement at his familiar antics. "Hiding behind Pharos' innocent looks won't do you any good from now on, _pervert_."

She flicked her friend _hard_ on the forehead, just to emphasize the message.

 _"Ow..._ Whaaa- M-Minako-chan, that's terrible!" Ryoji whined, exaggeratedly rubbing the sore spot. "Calling me a pervert... It's not like I've done anything _that_ bad. I've only watched you sleep sometimes and stuff, I swe-"

"...Ryoji-kun, you are _not_ helping your case."

"Alright, alright... Sorry," he mumbled, almost pouting. The girl found it funny, how he acted much more childishly than his younger self. They were so contradictory, him and Pharos, so much that she always struggled to see them as the same being.

Maybe they weren't, not anymore. Maybe, in time, they'd gained the right to call themselves distinct beings simply sharing a single body. Or maybe, it was what was left of her human self that just couldn't understand it fully.

Ryoji saw the small smirk tilting her lips upwards, and his features relaxed in a radiant smile of his own.

"Good. You should always be smiling," he said, ruffling her hair again.

 _Suddenly, an old image, a sepia-colored photograph of two people sitting together on a sofa, in that very dorm, in that very lounge._

 _Her, younger and visibly happier, merrily chattering the night hours away, perhaps realizing for the first time how his eyes, under the shadow of his beanie, were a light shade of grey and not black as she'd originally thought. Shinjiro listening silently as he always did, intense gaze never once leaving her eyes as she spoke of things that had to be completely meaningless to him, the slightest upward twitch of the corner of his mouth to occasionally surprise her and leave her breathless, while she tried everything she could not to get sidetracked and keep talking, if she could just make him smile at her some more._

 _Repeat, repeat. A treasured picture of their short-lived story._

 _"You look best when you laugh... So don't cry, got it...?"_

 _Now even the memory of his voice hurt._

 _(-..._ _ **please**_ _. Not now.)_

There was no stopping those flashbacks today (or to _night_ , she had no real way of knowing). Was it her being at the dorm, albeit an old dream of it? Was it seeing Ryoji again after so long?

Minako had no idea if her wayward memories had showed on her face or not, but Ryoji's hand on her elbow slackened just a little, and his eyes' glowing shimmer flickered. Untangling his hand from her long hair, parting her locks carefully between his fingers, he stared at Minako silently, with an unreadable expression.

Somehow, he'd always known what she was thinking, all the time. She'd noticed only recently, when occasionally talking to him as Pharos. He had been the closest to her for years, after all: it wasn't hard to believe he'd subconsciously learned how to read her emotions, despite her pride in masking them.

Minako quickly changed the subject, to distract him and herself from things she _really_ didn't need to recall.

"Why are you here, Ryoji-kun, after all this time? Why show me this moment again now?"

"I'm-..." The boy made to answer, but trailed off halfway through a breath, biting down on whatever he meant to say. He let go of her arm with one last lingering brush of his fingers and fiddled with the hem of his scarf, tugging it above his mouth nervously in a familiar gesture.

She _didn't like it_.

That foreboding feeling, like she shouldn't listen to what came next. That same feeling of the night when he told her and her friends the truth about him... and consequentially, herself.

Minako ignored the nervous tangle in her gut and kept her eyes fixed on Ryoji, who seemed to be still searching for the right words to use, eyes downcast.

She was about to say something, _anything_ to make him break that horrible, stagnating silence, when he eventually spoke.

"...I'm here for the exact same reason as that time, actually," he said carefully, measuring every syllable, nudging with his chin in the direction of the dorm lobby's large reception counter.

"Huh...?"

 _The same reason?_

"Minako-" Ryoji began, his eyes suddenly pinning her in place. When had he grown so serious...? "-you couldn't have noticed while being inside the Dimension, but... there's something wrong going on in the real world."

"...Something... _wrong?"_

 _(-..._ _ **don't listen just don't.**_ _) (-_ _ **shut it**_ _.)_

 _Here it comes._ She frowned when he stopped talking, again, and averted his eyes to the floor again, clicking his tongue in frustration.

"What happened, Ryoji-kun?" It came out a little harsher than she would have liked.

But still, _nowhere_ like his next words.

"...The Dark Hour is back. I fear something big is approaching."

The air in her lungs stopped moving.

"Wh-"

For a second she thought it could be one of his silly jokes, one quite a bit too cruel for his standards. The scowl set deeply on his face crushed that hope, and its shards pierced her lungs so harshly that her voice came out choked in the middle of a raspy breath.

"W- _what...?"_ she whispered, eyes wide in shock. "What did you just say-...?"

Unfortunately, she'd heard him perfectly.

 _The Dark Hour is back. Something big is approaching. (Enemies. Shadows?)_

Which could be ultimately translated as _"so it looks like everything you've done has been useless"._

She could almost hear the words in her head, and how they completed his sentence.

"I-it's not-"

 _'It's not possible?'_ she found a part of herself thinking.

 _God, what an idiot_ _I am. Stupid, naive, innocent_ _ **idiot.**_

She would have laughed, if she could let out her voice. A rueful, bitter laugh, far more bitter than tears.

It happened every time, so why didn't she foresee that? Why was she still hoping for something that wouldn't come?

Every single time she thought she could finally be at peace, every moment she looked to the future with hopeful eyes. A car crash, another transfer, another school, coffins everywhere she looked, her hand holding _his_ own that was dripping with blood, blood, blood, blood, blood, _blood-_

"How-...?"

Anger. Resentment.

How long had it been buried inside her? That feeling of wanting to shout out to the world.

 _(-_ _ **it's not fair.**_ _)_

"How can that be...?!"

"Mina-" Ryoji tried to stop her, but there was no point. She couldn't even hear him. His hand gripping again, firm and solid on her arm felt suddenly cold as ice _(as Death)_ while the words exploded out from her mouth like water from a broken dam.

"I... It's impossible," she struggled, struggled to stop the words. They defiantly came out abruptly in a half-shout, and she immediately felt _pathetic_. "I'm still here, _you're_ still here, Erebus is still trapped, the Seal is _fine!_ How can it _not_ be fine, when no one even knows of my existence anymore?" Now she was definitely yelling, she had the time to realize. "So _why...?!_ What... did I-...?"

 _What did I do wrong?_

 _Where have I made a mistake? When?_

 _Is it really all my fault again...?_

 _"Minako."_

Ryoji's steady voice shook her to the core as if he'd just slapped her soundly on the cheek.

He _knew_. He knew what she was yelling in her head, she realized.

"Minako-chan, _look at me_." He didn't ask. He nearly commanded, almost angrily, so much that she couldn't help but flinch.

She complied.

There was a pained scowl on his face, instead of the raging fury she had anticipated from his voice. The difference was incredibly subtle, but it was there, in that line creasing his forehead.

"This is not your fault," the boy continued in a softer tone, fingers tightening around the upper part of her arm. "Everything you've done, was for the good of humanity and not for your own. You've saved the _world_ , Minako-chan. How can you forget that...?" He sounded incredibly sad, and it tore up her heart. " _Nothing_ could ever be your fault. I will never allow you to even think that."

"-then _why...?"_ she asked in a whisper. To whom, she wasn't sure. At least, this time, there was someone actually listening.

"Why is it _never_ over? What more do I have to sacrifice, Ryoji-kun?" _How silly._ If only she had anything left to give up. "I have nothing. No one but Pharos, but _you,_ and this... this gigantically _empty_ house I'm going to live in for the rest of eternity. I've left everything behind to believe in my own answer, and it's still... not _enough?"_

Ryoji stood there, silent, for a moment. Weighing the harshness of her words, letting her take the breath she'd been needing for too long.

"A choice isn't something you make once and leave behind you forever, Minako-chan," he told her. In a strange way, his tone felt almost apologetic to the red-eyed girl. "The most difficult choices are the ones you have to keep making, again and again, at every single obstacle. You found the Answer to life... that day. But will that Answer, _your_ Answer, stay the same, with every new hardship? Or will it change?"

"Change..."

A new hardship... _Ordeal_ , Pharos used to call it so long ago.

Finding the Answer to life sounded so easy, so... _noble_. Throw away all of your hopes, all of your desires, to save everyone else's. _Easy, isn't it?_ As if anyone with a hero's heart was almost compelled to choose it without hesitation.

"Pharos-... _You_ said something similar to me once," she smiled ruefully at a silent Ryoji. At that moment, Minako had no trouble in seeing Death in his eyes; but far from terrifying, it felt strangely comforting. "You asked me whether our friendship would remain the same, or evolve... That time, I answered that everything changes. But right now, I'm not sure if I would say the same anymore."

"I feel like you might be misunderstanding something, Minako-chan," He finally smiled, and in a blink, he was human again. "Evolving is different from disappearing. From that first night we met, right here-" Ryoji gestured to the counter where the Contract sat still unsigned, Past-Her and Pharos seemingly disappeared in the darkness of the Hour, "-up until this moment, after all the decisions you've made, the struggles you've faced, me and you are still here, in the very same spot. And yet, wouldn't you say we have moved forward so many steps?"

Minako wished she could have two pictures, past and present, to compare. Appearance-wise, he was the one who had changed the most. But was he, really?

"That we did," she answered, and smiled back at him.

His hand aimed for hers while she was still looking at his face. The girl felt something cold and solid being put in her fingers and Ryoji curling them around it with his own for her to grasp it.

A completely black fountain pen.

"Old-style, aren't we, Ryoji?"

"...Maybe," he chuckled.

There wasn't really a choice to be made this time either.

She'd never been one to turn her back and lie down.

 _Could they be involved too...?_ She found herself asking.

 _Would they be dragged into this, once again?_

Most likely. With or without memories of her, she knew her friends, her _family_ , wouldn't change. But whatever the case, she wasn't part of their world anymore. They'd have to fight their own battles unaware of her existence, and it hurt more than anything else.

She signed the Contract with a steady hand, not even reading the terms.

Minako half-expected something like eerie glows or magic sparkles, but nothing came. It was a regular signed paper, on a regular polished counter.

She set down the pen next to it, then turned to face the young man next to her.

"...So? What now?" she asked an eerily silent Ryoji.

"Well..." he replied, reluctantly. "I guess my work here is done. Next time I'll see you, I'll be back to my younger self. I really want to stay with you longer, but-... It would be difficult, I'm afraid. I could have just told you as Pharos, but-" Ryoji stopped abruptly, as if thinking about something. "I don't know exactly why I didn't," he eventually sighed, dejected. "I just... just wanted to see you one more time... make _you_ see me," he said in the lowest voice possible, so faint Minako almost lost that last sentence.

She didn't have the heart to question him openly on that last statement. It would be too cruel to him, and too painful to her.

The only thing she knew for certain was that he'd always be next to her, in whatever form, as whatever she needed the most. He'd said it himself.

"Ryoji... _Thank you._ For everything."

How desperately she needed a friend.

"Silly," he chuckled. His feet were already moving, back-stepping to the door, she noticed. Another flashback of them being in the exact same situation. "Everything I am is because of you, Minako-chan. I'm the one who should be saying thanks."

He suddenly reached out to her, and raised a hand forward in front of him, palm upwards and fingers opened, inviting.

Minako looked at him quizzically, and he laughed again. "Your hand, beautiful lady, if I may."

With the same questioning look, the girl slowly complied, putting her own hand on top of his outstretched one. Long fingers wrapped around it, and a faint fluorescent glow seemed to envelop the two hands.

When the shimmer subsided, on Minako's right index finger a pale, glowing plain ring glistened in the green light of the Dark Hour.

"This is... the same one you gave me the last time we saw each other, isn't it?" she said, staring at the familiar ring. "I thought it had disappeared when I came here..."

"Of course not. True bonds are not so easy to break," Ryoji added, still grasping her hand. "Whether you or others forget about them or not, they're always there waiting. Remember that."

Always there... The last traces of her ever being, living on Earth.

Minako smiled at Ryoji as he let their hands fall down and separate.

"I'll always treasure this."

A sound of cracking glass. A voice from the past, and words from the present.

 _Thou art I, and I am thou._

 _Thou hast mended a genuine bond..._

 _The innermost power of the Fortune Arcana hath once again been set free._

Mended... That was new.

Nothing could reach her in her seclusion, not even the thoughts and memories of her friends, robbed from them long ago as she first set foot in the Sealed Dimension.

A one-sided bond had no meaning, no strength. She held onto ropes that the other side had long let fall. Now, one thread had just been picked up again.

"You already have the strength you need, Minako-chan," Ryoji said, again supposedly sensing her thoughts, his back to the dorm's entrance door, now open and gaping. "You just have to reconnect the severed threads. You have the Death Arcana, and now Fortune again... the others will surely find their way to you, sooner or later. And even as Pharos, I'll be there for you when you need me..." he smiled serenely, putting a hand on his heart as if reassuring her of the strength of his oath. "I promise."

"I know," the girl replied, nodding. "...But the same goes for me too, you know."

"Huh?"

Ryoji, about to turn to exit the room, stopped in his tracks, a look of complete confusion on his features.

"What's with that face...?" Minako frowned. She couldn't fathom what exactly in her words had surprised him that much. _Did I stutter...?_ "I simply mean that if you ever need me, of course I'll be there," she calmly rephrased, rising an eyebrow. "You're in my same situation, after all... I know how it feels. You shouldn't try to handle everything by yourself."

 _Minako... You're such a hypocrite_ , she mentally sighed.

Still, she meant every single word. Ryoji must have been hopelessly alone, just like she was.

He froze completely then, blue eyes wide open in plain shock.

The black-haired teenager stood there, dumbfounded on the threshold, staring at a very puzzled Minako for long moments, until his shoulders started shaking and his mouth distorted.

 _"Pfft..._ Ha... Haha...-"

"...? Ryoji-kun?" The red-eyed girl asked, confused and a little alarmed. "Is something wrong...?"

"Hu... _Hahahahahaha!"_

The raven-haired boy suddenly exploded in a heartwarming, happy laugh, clutching his stomach.

Dumbstruck for a second, Minako frowned. Was he making fun of her or something? "...What the hell is so funny?" she snapped at him, pouting, almost offended. "I was serious."

"Haha... I know, I know-" he replied between laughs. "I didn't- mean it that way, i-it's just..." Ryoji passed a hand through his hair, still chuckling. _"Ha..._ Oh, Minako-chan, you're probably the only one in the world who'd say that to a nearly omnipotent being who tried to destroy the world by colliding the Moon with the Earth," he said, breathing hard, and a little sadly. "You're always the same, even when you don't notice it yourself. I take everything back. You haven't evolved in the slightest."

"...I don't know how to take that last statement... But why shouldn't I tell you that you can rely on me, if you want to?" Minako answered, folding her arms and cocking her head to the side questioningly. "It's not like I can do much for you, and I have no idea how other people would react to this situation... but I do know that you're my friend. You've been trapped within me for ten years. You're still trapped with me in this Dimension now. Why would it make a difference if you're Nyx, or Death, or Pharos, or-... honestly, Ryoji, you're too many people at once," she sighed. "What I mean is... I don't really know how to treat you in a different way. If that bothers you, I'm sorry..."

"Heh-" he chuckled once again, with a hint of disbelief in his tone. _"Bothered me...?_ Honestly-"

The young man's expression was a mixture of fondness and sadness as he stepped back through the open door slowly, setting foot on the pitch black shadows of whatever was outside that imaginary dorm.

"Really... You are just-" he whispered, his eyes fixed on Minako. "-...way too selfless, and you don't even realize it. It scares me, Minako... I'm scared- _terrified_ that one day you'll do something irreparable to yourself again because of someone else. And if that happened, I... I-"

"...Ryoji...?" Minako tentatively called to him.

"Why, of all the people in the world... Why did this have to happen to someone like _you?"_ The boy's voice lowered with every word, down to a mutter, an unintelligible pleading. "If _only_ I really was the human you treat me like..." Ryoji continued, stepping further back into the darkness, putting more and more distance between them. "If _only_ I could have at least met you sooner while I was like this, in this body... Then maybe, just for a day-..."

 _(-maybe you would have loved_ _ **me**_ _instead.)_

His last words were swallowed by the silence, and he disappeared.

"Ryoji, wai-" Minako reached forward.

The world started swirling again without waiting for her to finish her sentence.

* * *

 **Great Seal's Dimension, ?**

 **?**

* * *

Blood red eyes opened, incandescent, to a silver Moon.

Again, she didn't even have the time to notice the scene change.

She was suddenly back in the Dimension, lying in bluish grass and staring at a full, pale, beautiful Moon, enormous in a perpetually midnight blue night sky.

A round-shaped tuft of black hair obscured the top part of her vision, almost blending in with the color of the sky around the white halo of the gigantic celestial body. The shape loomed over the girl as she twitched, as if just reawakening.

A smooth pale forehead followed as the figure obscured the Moon slowly like an eclipse.

A set of blue eyes, a little nose, a downward turned mouth.

No, it was upwards. It was her vision that was reversed.

"Hi," he told her, almost lightheartedly, as if he'd never left her side. "Welcome back."

"Yeah," she answered. "...You too."

The boy lowered his thumb towards her cheek, and dried off a single, silvery tear from her face.

Minako smiled weakly, reaching a hand up to ruffle his bluish locks, and Pharos' upside down smile stretched, his lips parting to show a tiny bit of white little teeth. She loved how his eyes narrowed a little, like a cat's.

"Looks like you and I are going to have a lot to do in the next future, little one-" Minako said, moving an arm to rest behind her neck and laying her head down deeper in the grassy field of her favorite place. "-...again." She added, not without a vein of resignation.

"...I know. The wilted garden is about to blossom anew," the boy answered cryptically but steadily. The girl felt him drop to sit down on the ground near her head, and his small finger twirled in a rusty lock of hair, just like Ryoji had done moments before. "Whether the flowers are poisonous or not... this time, I cannot say."

"You always say the weirdest things, Pharos."

Her eyelids felt heavy, but Minako turned towards him for one last drowsy, and she hoped somewhat menacing, stare. "...And for the record, if you ever try to scare me again, you'll get the scolding of a lifetime, my boy, Mother of Shadows or not."

"Fufu-"

 _He actually chuckled,_ she absentmindedly thought. So he _could_ act like a kid from time to time.

"I'll be very careful not to incur your wrath, then... _My dearest."_

* * *

 _ **Welcome to the Velvet Room, everyone.**_

 _ **I'm happy I managed to actually finish this chapter for you guys before the new year, and I'm trying my best to update all of my stories before 2016. Our dearest Great Seal, Minako, finally enters the scene, with Death in tow. No fighting yet, because the chapter would have turned out to be enormously long otherwise, and because I wanted to leave our protagonist some room to have her grand entrance. Fear not, though: a big confrontation is up for the next one.**_

 _ **The theme music for this time around is the wonderful Tchaikovsky symphonic poem Romeo and Juliet. I loved the mixed feeling of nostalgia and heartache of the piece, and I think it exemplifies the two main emotions of this chapter: Minako's nostalgia for the old times with her friends and Ryoji's unrequited love for her. Who doesn't like a bit of tragic romance from time to time?**_

 _ **As always, I must thank each and every one of you who took the time to review or follow or favorite this story. I'm happy so many people seem to like it. I should have answered everyone by pm, in order not to make this AN unnecessarily long again, but if I forgot to by any chance, please feel free to remind me. My memory is terrible sometimes.**_

 _ **To** KisaragiKei **and** dbzfan102 **, since I didn't have the time to answer you privately: I'll just fuse the two answers to your questions in a single one, because they're pretty similar. First of all, thanks a lot for the review and the compliments. Unfortunately, I can't insert Persona 1/2 story elements in this plot, since the first two games are set in a sort of alternate universe to Persona 3 and 4. Adding parallel worlds and demons in this story would mean making it unnecessarily complicated and far too long (plus, the way Personas are evoked and used in the two series would be very difficult to mesh together in a coherent way), so please bear in mind that the events of the first two Persona games never happened in this story's universe, and therefore there is very little chance of characters from those videogames to appear. What the Central 46 are aware of are the events of Port Island in Persona 3: Kouetsu Kirijo's failed experiment, the Lost, and all that. However, I think the character of Philemon is one, like Igor, who could easily be present in different worlds. Thus, I wouldn't exclude an appearance in the future chapters.**_

 _ **Also, wherever you are, whatever you're going through, I wish you a slightly late Merry Christmas, and a very happy, peaceful New Year to all of you. The next chapter is in the works, and will hopefully take a little less to publish.**_

 _ **Until then, farewell.**_


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